Far Away From Home
by IAmSomebodyElse
Summary: Isilya Jane Barnes was an average girl from Los Angeles. On her way home from work, masked men show up in front of her home, grab her, and throw her into the door of her house. When she falls through it, instead of landing in her living room, she ends up in the Underground City. Kidnapped and forced to work for these men in a new world, who can she trust to help her? (Levi x OC)
1. The Underground City

It doesn't matter if it is day or night above the ground. Nobody cares about those cycles when they can't see the sun or the moon to tell them when to sleep or rise. The underground city is always in the dark, with lanterns doing their best to light it up as much as they can. It does very little. For most of the city's inhabitants, that doesn't matter. They have come to know the darkness. They can see fine in the low light and some of them prefer the dark and think of it as an old friend.

On this particular day or night, for no-one in this city knows what the sun or the moon are up to at this moment, a short man with dark ebony hair walks along the streets. He has a look on his face as if he's bored with everything around him. His eyes roam the area. A few others are out and about, doing whatever it was they were doing in this shitty place. He doesn't care. His eyes stray to the roof of the giant cavern, his expression never changing. After a few moments, he looks forward again, the smallest of sighs leaving his lips.

A tall beautiful woman with light red hair rushes out of the building on his right. Her eyes search the area and land on the man. She runs up to him, grasping onto his shoulders.

"Please. Help me." She whispers, eyes full of fear as she glances back at the building she had come out of. The man, unfazed by her frantic actions, stares at her dirty hands on his shoulder. A silent, deep growl escapes his throat. The woman follows his gaze and takes her hands away from him, but does not step away. Now that her hands are no longer on his shoulder, the man looks up at the woman. His eyes narrow. She is beautiful in a way he had never seen before. She seems otherworldly, but… was her hair… pink? He has grown up in this city and knows some colors will appear much different under proper lighting. Although, proper lighting is rare in this underground city.

"Please. We all need help. We want- I want…" The woman trails off as the man's eyes turn towards the door she had run out of. Feet stomp up the stairs behind the door, anger evident in the noise. The woman turns back to the man with a plea in her eyes.

"I just want to go home!" A laugh rises into the air as the door opens again.

"My dear, you are home!" A large man with a fresh black eye exits the building, smiling like a devil at the woman and smaller man. He walks over to them. The ground rumbles when he steps. He throws one of his large arms over the woman's shoulders, causing her to flinch. Yet, she doesn't try to run away. Instead, she leans away from the man as much as possible, sending the dark-haired stranger a pleading look.

"I apologize about my wife, good sir. She's a little, well…" The man trails off, pointing to his head and making his finger circle the air.

"It runs in her family, sadly, but I do my best to take care of her." The shorter man glances in-between the two, his expression giving away nothing. She glances up at who she had hoped to be her hero but looks away from his bored expression when their eyes meet. The woman's shoulders sag.

The woman's husband, as he said he was, glares at the quiet man in front of him. He doesn't seem to be buying the charade. His eyes notice many little and large things. Things that make the situation seem much different than what the man says it is. Obviously, the woman does not want to be with this man. Also, neither of them wears a ring. She seems trapped. Kidnapped, most likely. As the stranger looks at the woman's hands he decides that she isn't the one that gave her 'husband' a black eye. That leads him to believe that there are more peoples monster has control over. And at least one of them doesn't want to be there.

"Why don't you head back inside, dear. I'm going to talk to this gentleman, here." The large man speaks through gritted teeth as a horrid smile stretches his cheeks. He squeezes the woman's shoulder. She flinches as the large fingers and nails dig into her skin. Her eyes dart around the area, muscles tensing as if she's preparing to run. Then, she sends a defeated look to the stranger and walks back to the building. The stranger's eyes meet the taller man's.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak of this to anyone. You understand? My… wife, that it." The taller man sighs and lets out a humorless chuckle. "As I said, she's…well, crazy. We….I don't let her out of the house much because she always causes a scene. You understand, right?" The stranger has the same bored mask on his face, eyes not even blinking once as he stares at the bigger man. After a moment, the taller of the two lets out a large grunt. He leans over the smaller man, his voice dropping lower and quieter as he speaks.

"Listen, I've got many rare, beautiful ladies in that building. You've never seen anything like some of the ones I've got. They're not from here and I can promise that you'll never see anyone like them elsewhere." The man smiles down at the smaller man, "Some boys, too, if you're into that." The dark haired man arches a brow, almost unnoticeable. Although disgusted by this monster who calls himself a man, he maintains a cold mask.

"I'll give you half an hour for free. Then you walk back out here like nothing happened, alright?" The large man says. His maniacal grin widens even more, though his eyes turn into slits. The smaller man knows he could walk away or fight this disgusting human being if need be. He glances behind the taller man, considering his options. Then, a thought strikes him like a slap across the face. He thinks of someone important to him who was in a situation like the tall woman stuck in that building. Someone who could've used a savior like this years ago.

The short man meets the bigger one's eyes. He nods once. The large man seems to deflate in relief. He laughs and swings his beefy arms around to pat the smaller one on the back. The force almost sends him flying forward, but his feet stay planted on the ground.

"Good man. Call me Zak. I don't need to know your name. We'll never see one another again, anyways." Zak says as he leads the stranger to the door. He opens it and they walk past two doors on either side of them, then down a long set of stairs at the end of the hallway.

At the bottom is another hallway that stretches further than the short man can see to his left and his right. Zak says nothing about any of the other doors and instead opens the one right in front of them. The shorter man's eyes widen at how many people are in the large room. Some of them are tied up, but others aren't. All of them are laying on the floor or sitting against the wall. Many of them have bizarre colored hair, intricate art over their bodies, or dark skin. Darker than anyone he'd seen living in the underground. He wonders if this is what people look like on the surface. He'd never heard of anybody looking like any of these people before. He'd never been to the surface but knew people who had and none of them had mentioned such strange looks. These people seem alien to him.

His eyes sweep the group and he makes a mental note that Zak's 'wife' isn't there. The man's gaze lands on a woman who looks more beaten than the others. Her wrists and ankles are tied together by rope. Blood has dried in her hair, contrasting the bright blue color. Part of the left side of her head has been shaved and there are cuts on it like tally marks. Blood also runs down her chest and legs. A scrawny man leans over her as she lays on a small mat on the floor, but his head snaps up when he hears Zak cough. The woman with the blue hair doesn't move her head, but her eyes meet the stranger's gaze. She looks back and forth between Zak and him, her eyes displaying a hate-filled glare as they land on Zak.

"Why isn't she cleaned up yet? We have a guest!" Zak snaps at the skinny man. The man tries to sputter out an excuse but Zak, the obvious boss of the two, turns to his guest.

"You'll have to excuse this situation. We had a bit of an accident earlier." Zak says, absentmindedly reaching his hand up to feel the bruise forming around his left eye. In the lighting of the room, the dark-haired man can now see that it isn't only a black eye. Zak's entire left side of his face will soon be one big bruise. The shorter man hides a smirk at the thought. His grey-blue eyes flicker back to the blue-haired woman on the floor. He sees a fire in her eyes. He looks at her hands and feet that are both tied up. There are many bruises on her body, but the one on the knuckles of her right fist catch his interest. He glances back up at Zak and then back to the woman. Compared to the large man, she is a twig. This time, the stranger can't help the small smirk that finds its way onto his lips.

"Never mind that," Zak waves his hand around in the air, "Where's my little maid? We need a drink for our guest." As he speaks, a small boy wearing an apron and a long black skirt comes out of a door to their left. He keeps his gaze on the floor as he pours a cup of water out of a small pitcher. The stranger stays still for a moment, shocked by how young the child is. He couldn't be more than six years old. The child glances up at him, holding the cup up higher as his gaze returns to the floor. The man takes the cup as Zak strokes the child's green hair.

"You're doing good, little maid. Keep it up." The child bows his head and moves out of the room as soon as Zak gestures for him to do so. The stranger's eyes follow the child as he leaves, his jaw clenched shut. The stranger glances back to the blue-haired woman, seeing her watching the child leave as well. The man doesn't know if he's ever seen eyes full of such sadness. Once the door closes behind the child, her eyes return to their flames as she glares at Zak.

"The maid isn't an option. Needs to get a little older first." Zak says as he starts to gesture towards the others in the room.

"But almost any of these…" He trails off, not needing to finish the sentence. Almost all the eyes in the room refuse to look at them. The stranger takes his time looking, but his gaze lands on the blue-haired woman who stares straight back at him. Her eyes almost seem to be challenging him. He can imagine what she's trying to say. _Touch any of these people and I will fight my way out of these ropes. And through those monsters who call themselves_ businessmen _. I will fight through the pain of all these bruises and broken pieces of myself and I. Will. End. You._

"That one." The stranger nods towards the woman. Zak widens his eyes but is quick to covers his surprise.

"Oh, no. You can't have Isilya." Zak spits out her name, shaking his head at his guest.

"She's too feisty, so she is only allowed to serve… certain people." Zak smirks with a sadistic look in his eyes, "Besides, after the accident we had today, you might break her. Any of the others are fine, I guarantee." The stranger thinks to himself as he listens to Zak speak. _Or she'll try to break me._

"Would that be a problem?" The shorter man says, turning his icy gaze to the large man at his side, "If I broke her?" The large man blinks, then a smile crawls its way onto his face as he turns to look at the bruised woman on the floor. His eyes flash with what can only be described as madness.

"Actually, that wouldn't be a problem at all. Not at all. " Zak snaps his fingers. The scrawny man looks up from cleaning the blood off of Isilya and stands up at attention.

"You heard our guest. Go get her cleaned up and out of those ropes, then bring her to the master room." Zak turns back to the door they had come through earlier, gesturing for the smaller man to follow him. "I'll show you where you'll be enjoying your next half an hour." The dark haired man continues to stare at the woman on the floor.

"Keep her tied up." The man turns to Zak, who smirks, then laughs out loud. Zak snaps again. The scrawny man nods, showing that he understands.


	2. Watching From The Walls

Down the hall from the room with all the people, the dark-haired man stands in a bedroom, still holding the cup of water. His face remains bored, but his eyes dart over everything, taking in all the information that he can. The bedspread looks like the softest thing he's ever seen. The pattern of the wallpaper is more intricate than he thought possible. The chandelier is the brightest gold he has ever looked at, even though it has a small layer of dust over it. Everything in the room is of amazing quality to the mysterious guest. Like the people in the large room, it seems alien to him.

After another few minutes, the door opens behind him. Two men carry Isilya into the room and toss her onto the bed. She wriggles her way into a sitting position against the headboard and tucks her knees to her chest. Her body is still bruised, but the blood and dirt are gone. The man isn't sure, but he thinks there may be some new bruises as well. Her hair is now clean and combed so it covers the shaved side and the man can see that it falls to her mid back. The dirty ropes that were on her wrists and ankles have switched to white ribbons. The ribbons match the corset and the stockings that she now wears. Little bows sit on the lace on the top of the stockings. The man blinks. Compared to how dirty the rest of this place is the white outfit that she now wears seems blinding. The two men don't look at the stranger as they walk out. One stops at the door and mumbles that they're starting the countdown. He has thirty minutes to do whatever he wants.

As soon as he is sure that the men are gone, he walks over to Isilya. She glares up at him from where she sits and opens her mouth to say something. She flinches as a croaking noise escapes. Bruises cover most of the area between her jaw and collar bones, coloring her skin black and blue. They make her look paler than she is. She displays anger that she can't speak, but her glare says enough. The man leans down slow enough to not startle her. He makes sure to keep his hands off of the bed. Once he is down to her level, he speaks in a quiet voice.

"Are they watching us?" Isilya furrows her brows as she shifts away from the man. He sighs. Pushing the cup of water into her bound hands, he sits down next to her against the headboard. He turns his head to her, watching as she stares at the cup of water, then him. His mouth hardly moves as he whispers to her.

"Are they watching us?" He asks again as he nods to the cup. Isilya stares at him for another moment, before nodding her head once and taking a drink from the cup. Once some of the water flows down her throat, she widens her eyes and downs the entire cup. A few drops fall from the corner of her mouth. The man makes a disgusted face as he looks away from her. Once she finishes, he takes the cup form her and puts it on the bedside table.

He turns to her and grabs the ribbon that holds her wrists together. He leans forward, using her wrists to throw her back on the bed. Before she can react, he has her arms pinned above her head with one hand. He sits on her waist to keep her from rolling around. She thrashes about, anyways. The man leans down to her ear, using his free hand to press her head against his cheek so she can't move.

"I'm not here for what you think I am." Something that resembles a laugh escapes Isilya's throat as she continues to try to get out of his grasp. She stops as the man squeezes his thighs together. She takes a breath through gritted teeth. After a pause, she tries to move again, but the man doesn't move a muscle in response to her struggles. She stops and turns her head to glare into the man's eyes.

"Fine." Her voice is raspy and quiet. It pains her to speak, but she tries to cover it up with a roll of her eyes.

"I'll play. What're you really here for?" She questions him, flinching as the words leave her sore throat.

"I'm going to get you all out." The man whispers, his voice serious. Isilya closes her eyes and struggles to stop herself from laughing. She takes a deep breath in through her nose then opens her eyes to meet his. She's only seen one expression on this man's face since he walked into the other room at Zak's side. It hasn't changed. But as she searches his eyes she begins to believe that he is telling the truth.

"Play along. Will they watch us the whole time?" The man whispers into her ear, his lips trailing down and hovering over the skin of her neck as he waits for her reply. Isilya tenses at his touch, trying to decide if this is a trick or not. His lips are close to her skin, but never touching. To the people watching from the other side of the wall, it looks real. She thinks of the many children in the other room and lets out a shaky breath as she comes to a decision. She makes a small humming noise and catches the stranger's eyes. He brings his face back up, grabbing her face with his hand and bringing it to his neck. Isilya clenches her teeth. Then, she pictures the young green haired boy in that disgusting maid outfit and closes her eyes. For him, for everyone in that room, she will do whatever she has to. She pretends to kiss her way up the man's neck.

"Two will watch. Small holes in the wall. For the next minute or so. They'll leave... as long as I'm cooperating. They'll come back after five minutes. Then ten." It takes her a little while to get all of the information out. She tries to move her lips as little as possible. Not only because of the pain but also so the two behind the walls won't notice her speaking. The man hums in response. He grabs her by her hips and flips them around so they're laying on the bed the right way now, with Isilya's head on the pillows. The man keeps one hand on Isilya's wrists, his fingers playing with the ribbons as his other hand grabs onto her hips again.

"Off?" Isilya mutters, letting out a low breath to cover up her question as she rubs her wrists together. The man moves his head to the side once.

"Not until they leave." He moves his mouth from her ear to her shoulders as he speaks. When he shifts, the bed creaks, covering up their whispers.

"Why?"

"So when we attack they'll be even more surprised." As the man says this, he hides the movement of his lips as he pretends to kiss Isilya's collar bones. She sighs and the man lets go of her wrists, laying his arm on the side of her head to keep himself from falling on her. She lifts her arms to circle around the man's neck, her fingers playing with his hair. After another minute, the two hear quiet footsteps leaving the area. The man meets Isilya's eyes as she nods, confirming his thoughts.

"They'll be back in five." Her voice is still quiet and scratchy. The man climbs off of her and sits on the side of the bed, listening for any noises. Isilya stares at the empty cup on the bedside table, wishing that it were full of water again. But then she thinks of the green haired child pouring a cup of water as Zak watches with a smile. She takes a breath and shakes her head, then sits up next to the man.

"Isilya." She offers her hand to the man, although it is still tied to the other one. He glances down at it and then back up to her face.

"I already know your name." He looks away from her to search the room, his eyes picking up every small detail. Isilya scoffs.

"You know it because you heard it from the mouth of a piece of shit. I should be able to introduce myself properly." She holds out her hand again. The man gazes at her for a moment, admiring the fire in her eyes. He can tell that it pains her to speak so much. He makes a quiet humming noise in amusement then glances down at her hand. After a moment he shakes it.

"Levi." She nods and lets go of his hand.

"Okay, Levi. If you're actually here to help, then what's the plan?" She questions him, turning to face him more.

"Wait until after they come back and we'll go in that ten-minute gap. How many?" He faces towards her as well, the same bored look still on his face. Isilya furrows her brows, unsure of what he's asking about. After a moment, she responds. This time, her sentences are short as it hurts her to speak so much.

"There are five men who work for Zak. Two will come to check on us again. There are twenty-three people forced to do what he wants. Two others and myself are over eighteen. About a half of the group is under the age of thirteen." Isilya watches to see his reaction, knowing that whatever it is will be small behind his cold mask. She watches as his eyes grow wider the slightest bit in surprise, then narrow in disgust. If she hadn't been looking for it she's sure she wouldn't have noticed the change. He goes back to his bored mask and meets Isilya's eyes.

"Weapons?" His voice is as unemotional as his expression. It hardly sounds like a question.

"They all have at least one knife on them at all times. Most of them don't seem to know how to use them well. But they don't need to. It's enough to scare the kids." Isilya pauses and shakes her head with a scowl on her face as she rubs her throat. "I haven't seen them in many fights, but most of them are strong. They don't feed us enough here for us to have the strength to fight back." There is a long silence as Levi and Isilya think of what to do.

"The colored hair and the skin. That talking piece of shit said that you all are 'not from here'. What are you?" Isilya raises an eyebrow at his word choice, then looks away after a short moment, sighing.

"We're all human. That's what matters." Isilya looks back up at Levi. The sadness in her eyes hits him like a slap to the face. He takes a moment but doesn't back down. Isilya holds his gaze, considering her options.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She looks away again. Levi continues to stare at her as his curiosity rises. His face doesn't change, but his lack of words push Isilya to continue. In her eyes, he can see anger and hatred mixed with sadness and grief. In the short time that he's known her, he's seen more emotion and passion in her eyes than anyone else he's ever met. He watches her as she faces towards him. Her blue hair contrasts against the fire in her eyes but matches the bruises on her body and her eyes shine with a passion that contrasts against the simplicity of the corset and ribbons. He starts to believe that he's never met anyone as strong, either.

"We're all from a different world. And I don't mean the world of walls above our heads." She pauses, and Levi blinks as he takes back everything he had thought about her. This woman is crazy. He doesn't know how to respond, so he doesn't. She continues.

"My experience is like the rest of the kids who are stuck here. These men showed up in front of my home. They grabbed me and the belongings I had on me. They threw me into the door of my house. But when I fell through it, instead of landing in my living room I ended up in a room down the hall from here." She stops to gauge his reaction. His face hasn't changed.

"The different skin colors are normal in my world. People are born that way. There is a lot of diversity, unlike the tiny population of this world. The hair is something that people do to themselves, as are the tattoos." Isilya sighs as Levi continues to stare at her. "As I said, you wouldn't believe me."

They sit in silence for a short while, until Levi speaks up.

"Do you have any… tattoos?" Isilya blinks, then after a moment, she lets out a short laugh. She was expecting many different things he would say, but that was not one of them.

"Under my left rib cage, I have one. Another one on my right hip. And here, as well." She says, pointing to the side of her left pointer finger. Levi leans in to look. Most of the designs he had seen in the other room were all obvious and large. But on Isilya's finger is a small white arrow pointing towards the tip of her finger. Levi takes her hands in his to pull it closer to his face. Isilya watches him. He runs his finger along the tattoo. Then he looks up at Isilya, and upon seeing the amused smile on her face, he lets go of her hand.

"They should be coming back soon. Now would be a good time to tell me if you have any useful secret weapons from your world." He takes off his cloak and unbuttons his shirt, laying them both at the end of the bed. Isilya watches him, trying to decide If he's making fun of her or has actually accepted what she told him. He doesn't seem like the kind of person to joke, but she can definitely imagine him being a sarcastic asshole. She imagines he has a dark humor, too. Whether he believes her or not, she knows that she is telling him the truth.

"That room that they pushed me into when I was first brought here has a lock on it. My stuff and everyone else's should still be in there. I have a flashlight taser in my purse that we can use and there will probably be extra knives." Isilya watches as Levi takes his shoes off and places them on the floor.

"What the fuck is a... flash light taezer?" Isilya chuckles at the way he says the word, then pauses as she considers how to explain the object to him. She thinks about the little she has seen of this world and takes a breath.

"A flashlight is a small cylinder that is like a handheld lamp. It shines further and more direct than any candle can. It has a setting where it can turn off and on again multiple times really fast. It can blind your enemy and confuse them." Isilya watches to see Levi's reaction. His face gives away nothing. She rubs her throat as she continues slowly.

"A teaser is a weapon. It makes voluntary control of muscles difficult when it touches someone's skin. It stuns them and causes severe pain depending on the size and strength of the person. If we make it out of here with everyone, then I'll let you keep it." Levi doesn't know if he believes any of this. He hums in thought, nodding to the pillows. Isilya takes the hint and lays back on the bed. If she is telling the truth then that sounds like a good weapon to have. If she isn't, and she's as crazy as she sounds, then Levi can't depend on any of her information being correct. Before he is able to think about it more, he hears footsteps approaching. Isilya stiffens, and Levi knows that she can hear them as well.

With a bored sigh, Levi takes the stockings off of Isilya and rips one of them. He places them next to his shirt and then lifts the covers. He slides underneath them and holds them up for Isilya to join him. She stares at his half-naked body and looks down at the disgusting outfit she wears. She still doesn't know if she trusts this man. He could completely be messing with her. The footsteps are close now and Isilya huffs in annoyance, crawling on top of Levi. This isn't about trust. This is about a chance to save everyone in this damned place. If this is what it takes, she'll do it.

Levi lifts his head and Isilya puts her bound hands around his neck. He grabs her waist, his fingers so careful that she can hardly feel them there. She raises an eyebrow at him as she ducks her head into his neck. The footsteps are right outside of the room, and they both know people are watching. Levi's puts more strength into the grasp on her waist. Isilya whimpers. The pain reminds her of the bruises on her waist. For such a small man, he does not lack strength. He freezes when he hears her. He quietly grunts in her ear but doesn't move. She's certain that he stopped to make sure she was alright with what was happening. But he knew they were being watched so why would he bother? He didn't seem like the type to care. He also didn't seem like the type that would bother trying to save over twenty prostituted people. She sighs as she thinks of her friends in the other room and buries her face deeper into Levi's neck. She rolls her hips into his. Levi lets out an almost unnoticeable gasp. They continue to rock against one another and brush their lips over each other's necks. After a few moments, they hear footsteps moving away.

Isilya stays on top of Levi. Neither of them moves as they listen for any noises outside of the room. Nothing. After they're sure they're alone again they both get out from under the covers and Levi puts his shirt back on. He grabs a knife from a pocket in his cloak and cuts Isilya out of her ribbons. She nods at him in thanks as she rubs her wrists, rolling them around a few times. She seems lost in thought. Levi moves to place his cloak around her shoulders but Isilya tenses up, causing Levi to stop and stare at her. He can't imagine what's she's been through. He tries to think of something to say to her to make her feel better for the moment.

"If you want to fight in only a corset, that's your choice." Levi maintains his bored expression, mentally cringing at his own words. He has never been great at comforting others. He hasn't had much practice. Isilya stares at him and the cloak in his hands as she sits in silence. To Levi's surprise, she laughs. The sound doesn't last long, as she reaches up to rub her throat with one hand, taking the cloak in the other.

"That would be quite the sight, huh? Might distract the guards. Could be helpful." A small smile stays on her face as she fastens the cloak around her shoulders. Levi blinks in surprise. He has known this woman for a very short amount of time and he continues to be surprised by her. A smirk finds its way onto his lips as she looks up to meet his gaze. She places one hand on her hip as she stands up tall, even though she's around the same height as him.

"Let's go."


	3. The Other World

Levi opens the door, peeking out into the hallway in both directions. One man stands in the hallway a few doors down away from the room with everyone else in it. He has a small black object in his hand that he's poking. There is a white wire coming out of it. The wire splits into two and those two ends seem to attach to his ears. Levi's brow furrows as he closes the door and looks back at Isilya.

"There's one guard by one of the doors. He has wires attached to his head…" Levi trails off, not sure what else to say. Isilya smirks at him.

"Were they connected to his ears and a rectangular object?" Levi nods, seeming slightly confused, but refusing to show it on his usual stoic mask.

"That's another thing from my world. He's most likely listening to music through that device. It's called a phone, or an iPod depending on what he has." Isilya explains. Levi stares at her. He beings to consider that she's not crazy, after all. He has no idea what that object is, but she seems to know a lot about it. Could it be something from another world? He's never seen something like it in this one. Or he's the one going crazy. That seems more realistic to him.

"You have a lot to explain to me once we're done." Isilya nods at Levi in agreement as he speaks.

Levi turns back and opens the door again. The guard is still listening to music, eyes closed and playing an air guitar. Levi stares at the weird action but doesn't take the time to question it. If it is keeping the man distracted, then he will take advantage of it. Levi walks down the hall, eyes never leaving the guard. Isilya follows after him. The guard continues to play his imaginary instrument. Levi walks right up to him like he's walking up to meet an old friend, but then he takes out his knife. He pushes the man against the wall. Before the man can react, Levi has slit his throat. The guard starts to speak, but then he grasps at his throat with both hands, trying to contain the bleeding. He sinks to the ground and falls over with a thump. Levi stares down at him and the wires attached to his ears.

"Hey, G. You alright?" A voice calls from behind the door. Isilya wastes no time as she searches the dead man's pockets and pulls out a key from one of them. She rushes to unlock the door, sending a look to Levi. He nods at her. Once the footsteps are close enough, Isilya pushes open the door with all her strength.

"What the-" The man becomes silent as the door hits him on the head and causes him to stumble back. He trips as he holds onto his head and falls to the floor. Levi and Isilya stare at the unconscious man.

"That was easy." Isilya says, grabbing the arm of the dead outer door guard and dragging his body into the room. Levi shakes his head at her in amusement as she searches the man's pockets again and grabs what she had called a phone. He turns and closes the door as Isilya puts the phone in a pocket in the cloak. Levi walks over to the unconscious man and readies his knife.

"Wait." Isilya sends him a look. "We need him. He's the one who controls the door between worlds." Levi stares at the guard in from of him, pocketing his knife after a moment. He looks around the room as Isilya walks over to a shelf full of purses and bags. The large room is full of shelves and tables with many items taking up all available space. Some of the items are simple and recognizable. Bags, clothes, knives, ropes, and lanterns. Yet, many of the items are unlike anything he has ever seen before. Isilya makes a happy noise and grabs a purse from a lower shelf. She opens up the leather shoulder bag and pulls out an oddly shaped object. She hands it to Levi.

"This is a flashlight taser. Click that button by your thumb." Isilya points at it as Levi gives her a skeptical look. After a moment, he does as she says. A bright beam of light shoots out from the object. It's as Isilya had described. Direct and very, very bright. Isilya tells him to touch the button again, so he does. The light begins to strobe and Levi blinks in surprise.

"That's the strobe setting. It can be really helpful to disorientate an enemy. Flip that switch on the bottom and press the smaller button right there." Isilya points to another button on the cylinder. She walks to one of the tables in the middle of the room, grabbing a water bottle from it and drinking it as she watches Levi. He does what she says and drops the object when a bright, loud, crackling light emerges from the end of it. Isilya laughs at him and picks the flashlight up.

"It will only do that while you're pressing the button. If you switch the flip at the bottom again, then the button won't work. It's a safety thing." Isilya hands the flashlight back to Levi, then grabs some rope off of a table in the middle of the room. Levi messes with the taser, throwing the object around from hand to hand and flipping it around in the air. He turns the light on and off a few times, getting used to the look and feel of it. Isilya uses the rope to tie the unconscious guard up. She binds his wrists together with his ankles, then ties him to the corpse of the other guard for good measure. She goes through his pockets and takes his phone and knife out, putting them on the nearest table.

Isilya walks over to one of the two large wardrobes in the furthest corner of the room. She opens it and begins searching through strange looking clothes. Levi stares at the rack of clothing, taking in all the different colors and patterns. He's never seen anything so colorful before.

"Are those from… your world, as well?" Levi questions, glancing back and forth between the clothes and the flashlight. He is beginning to realize that Isilya may not be crazy after all. Isilya nods as she pulls a pair of tight black leggings out of the wardrobe. She also grabs a black and white striped and long-sleeved crop top from the wardrobe. She pulls a box out from the bottom of the wardrobe and grabs a set of dark underwear. Then she grabs a pair of boots from another box.

Isilya begins to take off Levi's cloak and the corset, dressing in her own clothes. Levi turns his attention to the many strange objects in the room. As Isilya slips on her shirt, he glances up at her, spotting the two other tattoos she had mentioned earlier. On her right hip bone is a small, black, single quarter music note. Under her left rib cage is a tiny and simple set of wings. Levi doesn't realize that he's staring until Isilya steps into her leggings.

Levi looks back to the objects on the table, picking up one of the phones and clicking on the button on the front. The screen lights up and displays a picture of a large body of water with mountains in the distance. It also displays a few numbers on the screen. His eyes widen as he stares at it. After a few moments, the screen turns dark so he clicks the button again. The same picture shows up.

"I'll explain that to you later," Isilya says as she walks over to him now dressed, handing him his cloak. Levi stares at the strange clothing she is now wearing and hands it back to her. Isilya raises an eyebrow at him, but takes the cloak from his hand and puts it on again. She can't deny that it's a very soft and comfortable cloak. She pulls her hair to the side, revealing the cuts on her head as she puts her hair into a high ponytail. She nods to the second wardrobe.

"You should look in there." Levi eyes her with suspicion, but puts down the phone and walks over to the wardrobe anyway. When he opens the door, his eyes widen and his mouth begins to fall open. Isilya smirks at his reaction. It's the most she's seen his face move since they'd met.

Inside the wardrobe, there are no clothes. No boxes. No hangers or shelves of any sort. There is some sort of large window, but Levi knows that what he is seeing is not what is outside of this building. Isilya watches him as his eyes scan the view. They can see into an apartment in a city and through a window in that apartment are many skyscrapers. A plane flies above the tall buildings. Levi stands frozen to his spot, hands still on the doors to the wardrobe as he tries to understand what he's seeing.

"I thought you were full of shit. What you said is true, though, isn't it?" Levi's eyes don't leave the portal as he speaks. Isilya simple nods and begins to mutter to herself.

"I can't believe they actually left it open. They must've been planning to grab another one soon." She crosses her arms and furrows her brow as she thinks. Levi finally looks away from the portal to meet Isilya's eyes.

"Left if open? They can close it?" He doesn't know how much more information he can take in. He had wanted to get these people and children out of this situation. He hadn't planned to stumble across a different world.

"They can open it, close it, change the size and shape, move it around, anything. The guy we knocked out is the one who has experimented with and figured out the portals. He has some special tool he created that controls them." Isilya glances back at the unconscious man at the other end of the room. Levi follows her gaze, then looks back to the portal.

"You'd better explain everything to me after we finish this." He closes the doors of the wardrobe, turning to look at Isilya. She nods at him.

"If you help me get these kids home and kill these monsters, I'll tell you anything and everything you want to know." Isilya promises as she walks to another shelf on the other side of the room. She grabs two small knives and tucks one into her waistband and one into her boot. Then, she grabs a larger one and flips it around in her hand a few times. She nods to herself, then turns to Levi. Her eyes are cold and emotionless as she meets his gaze. He imagines that's how he looks to others. Seeing that look on her face, one that had shown such extreme emotions to him already, causes a shiver to go down his spine. She walks past him and puts her hand on the doorknob, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"Ready to go murder those monsters?"


	4. Isilya Jane Barnes

Levi and Isilya creep down the hallway again. She opens the door next to the master bedroom that they had been in and closes it as soon as they've both walked through. Levi lets out a quiet grunt when he sees the state of the small room. Compared to the bedroom or the room with the portal, this place is disgusting to him, and to Isilya too. A layer of dust covers the entire room. A small table and two chairs sit in the corner and a single candle sits on the table, lighting the area. There are a few small holes in the wall, big enough to peek through but small enough to be unnoticeable if you aren't looking for them. Levi walks over to one and looks through it. He can see the master bedroom they had been in a few minutes ago.

"Two of them will come into this room any minute now to check on us through these holes." Levi nods in understanding as Isilya speaks. They both move to stand by the door.

Under a minute later, they hear footsteps and quiet laughter nearing them. Isilya lets out a slow breath through her nose as her grip on her large knife tightens. Levi watches her, his expression as bored as ever. When the door opens, two men walk through. One pushes the door closed with his foot.

Levi lunges forward and grabs one of them around their throat and uses his other hand to cover their mouth. Isilya throws herself at the second man, tackling him to the floor and using her knife handle to hit him in the head. His head rolls to the side and Isilya slices his neck and Levi does the same to his conscious guard. Both bodies lay limp on the ground.

Isilya stands up. She doesn't feel any remorse, but she can't bring herself to look at the bodies. Levi offers Isilya a handkerchief. She wipes her blade off on it then hands it back to Levi, who does the same.

"There's one more and then Zak." Isilya states, looking everywhere but the floor where the bodies lay. Levi nods at her.

"Any idea where either of them are?" He questions. Isilya looks at him, then to the door.

"Rivin usually stays in the main room. He's the man who was tending to my wounds when you arrived. He's… a doctor of sorts." Isilya glares at the door as if it is one of the people who has stolen her and the others from their homes.

"Zak mentioned an accident, earlier. What happened?" Levi watches as Isilya's gaze finally lands on the bodies on the floor. She grimaces and looks away again. With a sigh, she begins to explain what happened.

"One of the other girls, Lillian, had been planning to escape. She had convinced some of the kids to go with her. I didn't agree with her plan. It wasn't well thought out. I tried to convince her to wait a while longer so we could get more information, but she couldn't wait to leave. I understood, of course. I wanted out, too, but…" Isilya shakes her head as she pauses.

"But one of the guards heard their plans and began to beat those who were discussing it. I jumped in, attacking the men before they could harm the young ones who had been planning to follow Lillian. I'm older and stronger then most of the kids so I was able to get those men to focus their beatings on me. Lillian took the kids and started running. Most of them got caught before they got far, but she managed to make it upstairs and outside. I haven't seen her since then. Shortly after, you came inside with Zak." Levi listens as she speaks, putting together the pieces.

"Does Lillian have pink hair?" He questions, watching as Isilya nods her head in response. Levi hums in thought. Isilya shifts so she can stare at him.

"You saw her, didn't you? That's why you came here, isn't it? She told you about our situation and Zak tried to bribe you into silence." Levi blinks at her and remains silent, answering her questions with a look. Isilya sighs.

"I don't know where Zak will be. We should head to the main room and take out Rivin, first." Isilya nods towards the door. Levi considers their options for a moment, then nods at her.

For the third time that day, Levi and Isilya creep down the hallway. They pass a few doors until they get to the one next to the bottom of the stairs.

"Rivin should be in here. There's a chance Zak will be, too." Isilya whispers as she puts her hand on the doorknob. Levi nods at her in understanding and then again towards the door. Isilya takes the hint and opens it. Levi rushes in ahead of her, eyes spotting Rivin sitting in the corner of the room reading a book. Before Rivin can make any more noise than a yelp of surprise, Levi has him in a headlock.

Levi looks around the room and then sends Isilya a look as she shuts the door and nods to him. She turns to the room full of kids. Levi's eyes scan the room as Isilya talks to them. He notices that the girl who had run up to him on the street, Lillian, is now in this room with the others.

"We're getting out of here, everyone. I promise. But first, I need you all to look the other way for a moment." She smiles at everyone. Some of them hesitate, staring at Rivin as he grasps and claws at Levi's arm, but they trust Isilya and turn away. Levi takes that moment to slit Rivin's neck. He places Rivin's body on the floor next to the table and takes its coat off of it, wrapping it around the neck. He takes the knife out of Rivin's waistband and tosses it to Isilya. She rushes over to Lillian and cuts her out of her ropes. Lillian looks up at Isilya, then over to Rivin.

"Is he…" She trails off, not wanting to say the word. Isilya hands her Rivin's knife but doesn't answer her question.

"Lillian, cut everyone loose but stay here. We're going home, but you all need to wait a little bit longer, okay?" Lillian hesitates, then nods and cuts loose one of the other girls, who starts to untie some children next to her.

Isilya walks over to Levi by the door. Before she makes it to him, the green haired boy runs up and tugs on Isilya's arm. She gets down onto a knee to listen as he speaks to her.

"What do we do if Master or the other men come back in here?" He looks up at Isilya with fear in his eyes. She cringes when she hears him call Zak 'Master' and pulls him into a hug. Looking over his shoulder, she can see everyone waiting to see what she will say. Isilya lets go of the kid and turns to her partner in crime.

"This is Levi. He helped me and now he's here to help you. He and I need to go find and talk to Zak. As for the others, none of them will be able to hurt any of you ever again. They've been… taken care of." Isilya looks over the kids. The older ones either look to the ground or meet her gaze with a mix of relief and understanding in their eyes. Most of the younger ones don't understand what Isilya means, but they understand that they will be home soon. The green haired boy turns towards Levi.

"Thank you, Mr. Levi. If Muma trusts you, then I will, too." He runs forward and wraps his arms around Levi, who freezes and then looks over to Isilya. His eyes become a little wider than normal. She met the man a very short time ago but can already tell when he's thinking when she looks into his eyes. _Why is this child touching me? Get me out of this situation. Why did he call you Muma? What do I do? Is that your child?_ Isilya watches for a moment, allowing herself to be amused at how uncomfortable Levi has become. He stays frozen, but his eyes narrow at her. She lets out a small laugh and pats the child on his shoulder.

"That's nice of you, Charlie. Now, you all need to stay here until we come back. Stay together and try not to make a lot of noise, okay?" Charlie lets go of Levi and turns to listen to Isilya. Levi lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he listens to Isilya as well. The people in the room nod at her instructions. Isilya nods back at them and then turns to Levi.

"Ready?" She questions. Levi responds by turning towards the door, grabbing the handle and looking back to her. She pats Charlie on the shoulder and moves next to Levi, nodding at him. He opens the door and they slip out into the hallway, closing the door behind them as their eyes scan the area. Seeing that they're alone, Levi turns to Isilya.

"Any ideas?" His question makes Isilya sigh.

"He's unpredictable, but he usually only comes downstairs if he..." Isilya trails off, whatever she was about to say making her cringe. Levi watches her, waiting for her to continue. Isilya clears her throat.

"He issues orders to the others and only deals with us when he wants..." Isilya trails off again, shaking her head at herself. She opens her mouth to try again, but Levi rolls his eyes at her.

"Tsk. You don't need to say it." Levi gives her a look. Isilya stares back at him, knowing what he's really saying. _I understand. And I'm sorry._ Isilya looks to the ground and nods. They head up the stairs side by side, being as silent as they can. Isilya hasn't been up these stairs in a long time. She swears that they've doubled how many there are somehow. Halfway up, Levi glances over at her, then back ahead again.

"Muma?" He mumbles, not looking at her. Isilya lets out a small chuckle.

"A lot of the kids call me that." She answers, looking over at him. She realizes that isn't a real answer, so she shakes her head.

"I'm one of the lucky ones. I've never become pregnant." They continue up the stairs in silence. Once they reach the top, Isilya looks at the rooms to their left and their right. She then points to the first door on their left. Levi grabs the knob and opens the door with practiced speed and silence.

The room is an office of some sort. There is a large red leather chair behind a dark wooden desk. Random objects Levi doesn't recognize are scattered around it. There are also a few books and papers. Separate piles of coins sit in-between the messes. Levi wrinkles his nose at the sight. There are a few other pieces of fancy furniture and some bookshelves full of valuable trinkets and books. But Zak is nowhere to be seen.

Levi walks over to the desk and stares down at some of the papers. All of them have a name, location, and other basic information. He picks one of the papers up. A separate piece of paper with a face on it is attached to it. Levi has never seen such detail in a drawing of someone. It's almost as if the artist were able to capture an exact moment in time and put it on the paper somehow. His eyes narrow as he continues to take in all of the information. Maybe there is a device from Isilya's world that can do such a thing. After seeing the flashlight taser and the phones, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch.

"There are more than twenty-three papers here." He glances up at Isilya, who has shut the door but hasn't moved. Her eyes stay glued to the floor, not wanting to look at anything in the room.

"There used to be more of us. A lot more. Some of them were already gone before I got here. None of us are really sure about how long this has been going on for." Isilya takes a deep breath and then lets it out. She slowly looks up at Levi.

"Some have been sold. Some have been killed. Some of those are probably people that they've been planning to grab for... future use." Isilya shakes her head and looks back to the floor. Her hands have formed fists at her sides. Levi looks over the paperwork again and sees one with Isilya's face on it. He picks it up. Like all of the others, basic information has been written down in messy handwriting.

Name: Isilya Jane Barnes

Location: Downtown, Los Angeles, California

Age: Old enough

Height: Over 5 foot. Maybe 5 foot 3 or 4 inches.

Hair Color: Blue, naturally brown

Eye Color: Brown

Family: Parents, alive, drug-addicts. Older brother, deceased, car wreck. Little sister, deceased, overdosed.

Notes: Fast food worker. At least two tattoos. Keeps to herself. Unlikely that anyone would look for her for very long.

Levi stares at Isilya's face on the paper. Her younger sister died of an overdose and her parents are addicted to drugs. Levi can't help but wonder if there is a connection there. Could it be that her parents killed her little sister? Also, what is California? Does fast food mean that she worked at a tavern, or whatever they would have in her world? Their world must have taverns, right?

Levi continues to think about Isilya as he looks at the paper. Unlike the real Isilya in front of him, this one is smiling. A real smile. Her eyes shine with a happiness Levi feels like he's never known. Her hair hangs loosely over her shoulders. It's shorter than it is now and the shaved patch with scars on her head isn't there.

Isilya watches him quietly as he looks at her papers. She doesn't know what's on them, but she can see her picture from where she stands. She watches as Levi slowly moves his eyes up to look at her. For the first time, she can see pity in them. After everything that he has seen and heard so far, whatever is on that piece of paper has caused him to pity her. Not the blood or the bruises, not the prostitution or being taken from her home in a different world. None of it has made him look at her like that. Internally, she swears as she realizes what information must be on there. Her family, if she can even call them that. He must know something about them. Isilya doesn't allow herself to react to his gaze.

Levi stares at her papers for another moment, then puts them down. He frowns as he looks at Isilya and walks over to her. He stands in front of her. She stares at her feet. They both remain quiet and still for a small amount of time, but eventually, she looks up at him. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't have to. Isilya knows that he knows something terrible about her past. Something that she considers worse than her present. Levi opens his mouth, then shuts it again. He lets out a quiet breath.

"Let's finish this." Isilya nods in response as Levi moves around her to get to the door. As he reaches for the doorknob a terrified scream from somewhere downstairs makes him pause. He glances at Isilya. Her eyes are wide. She rushes to the door and throws it open, running down the stairs as she readies her knife. Levi follows behind her.


	5. Let's Go Home

Together, Isilya and Levi burst into the main room downstairs. Isilya glares as she sees the scene before them. Zak stands in front of everyone. He holds Charlie against his chest. A knife is pressed against Charlie's neck.

Once Zak sees Isilya and Levi, he growls and pushes the knife further into the child's neck. A couple of small drops of blood trail down and stain the collar of Charlie's maid outfit. Isilya bares her teeth and goes to move towards them, but Levi reaches out and grabs her arm. She freezes, still tense. Zak gestures towards Levi with his knife.

"We had a deal." He spits out towards him, returning the knife to its position against Charlie's neck. The young boy lets out a whimper. If Levi's hand wasn't on her arm, Isilya knows she wouldn't be able to stop herself from rushing towards them. At the same time, she knows that Zak wouldn't hesitate to kill Charlie. As much as she hates that she can't do anything right now, she knows they have to have a plan.

"And you, Isilya," Zak glares at her, "You've caused more trouble than you're worth. Which is very, very little, by the way." Isilya doesn't react to his words. Her eyes stay locked onto Charlie's. The child stares back at her with teary eyes.

"Muma." Charlie whispers, his tiny hands shake as he speaks. Zak lets out a loud laugh.

" _Muma_. How sweet. What are you going to do, _Muma_?" Zak continues to laugh. Isilya forces herself to breathe as evenly as she can. She blocks out Zaks laugh and continues to stare at Charlie.

"It's okay, Charlie. Everything will be okay." She nods at him with a weak attempt at a smile. This only makes Zak laugh harder.

"The only thing that can make this okay is for you to die. You've caused too much trouble for me. I'm going to have to find new men and train them to use my tech and it'll all be so much work. So, if you both die, then my little maid here can live. And everyone else in this room can continue on with their day." Zak watches as Levi and Isilya glance at one another. Their eyes meet and stay there.

The two of them seem to be having a conversation with just their eyes and facial expressions. They can't allow themselves to die. These children would have all their hope snatched away from them again and they'd still be stuck here. But if they make a wrong move then Zak will kill Charlie. If Zak does that, then he would be vulnerable for a few seconds. That could be all the time they need, but using Charlie like that isn't an option. Levi can tell by the way Isilya narrows her eyes at him as they both think of it.

Isilya glances at the children in the room. She makes eye contact with Lillian for a brief moment and then turns back to Levi. She nods at him and he nods back. Taking a breath in through her nose, she turns to look at Charlie again as she exhales.

"Everything will be okay, Charlie." Isilya repeats as she forces herself to drop her offensive stance. She watches out of the corner of her eye as Lillian creeps towards Zak from behind. Levi lets out a bored sigh.

"So how do you want that to happen?" Levi questions, crossing his arms and shifting his weight onto one leg.

"Are you going to make us kill one another or are you going to come over here and do the honors?" Zak smiles wide as he stares at Levi.

"I'm not stupid enough to get close to you or to let go of my hostage. You can off yourselves just fine." Zak's smile grows as he speaks.

"You're smart." Levi nods at Zak.

"But not smart enough." Isilya smirks as Zak meets her eyes.

"Ow! What the-" Zak screams as Charlie bites down on the hand that holds the knife against his throat. Zak's scream turns into a gasp as Lillian plunges Rivin's knife into his side. She closes her eyes and lets out a squeal of disgust as blood spills out onto her fingers. Letting go of the handle, she backs away, staring down at her bloodstained hands.

Zak drops his knife to the ground as he instinctively goes to reach for his injury, his breathing ragged. As he does so, Charlie runs to Isilya and wraps his arms around her waist, burying his head into her stomach. She puts her arms around his shoulders, starting at Zak.

"You're okay. You did great. You're going to be okay." Isilya's eyes don't leave Zak's shocked expression as she comforts Charlie.

Zak looks up from his side in time to see Levi rushing towards him, but isn't fast enough to react. The shorter man grabs the knife and twists it, causing Zak to cry out in pain. He swings out with his first, but his size and shock slow him down. Levi pulls the knife from Zak's side and gets behind the larger man. As he does that, he kicks the back of Zak's knees and captures him in a headlock as he lands on the floor. Levi sends Isilya a look.

Isilya holds Charlie closer to her and looks at everyone else in the room. They're pressed up against the furthest wall, staring with unblinking eyes. A few of the younger children are looking away or crying, holding onto the older kids. Isilya speaks over the noise.

"Look away." Everyone listens and Levi wastes no time in slitting Zak's throat. As Zak's body falls forward, thudding against the ground, Levi's eyes meet Isilya's again. Slowly, she nods at him, the first real smile he's seen forming on her face. He looks away to grab his handkerchief and wipe clean his blade again. Isilya looks behind him to see all of the people she has come to know since she's been stuck in this strange world. Looking over them, some of them smile back at her, exhaustion and relief in their eyes.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Levi leans against the door frame, staring at the wardrobe that contains another world. People rush around the room, obstructing his view as they move around. Isilya, Lillian, and some of the older children attempt to organize the chaos. They sort through the clothing, boxes, and bags scattered around the tables and shelves. Many things are still left over when they have finished. Nobody touches the items. Nobody wants to think about the people who aren't here to get back their belongings and who can't go back home.

Isilya, Lillian, and a few other girls begin to talk about how to find the children's parents. Levi doesn't recognize some of the words. Internet. E-mail. Texting. Alabama. Delaware. England. There are some words he recognizes but still doesn't completely understand. Phone. iPod. California. Levi tears his gaze away from the wardrobe long enough to remind Isilya that she has to explain these things to him.

"Aren't you coming with us, Muma?" Charlie questions, grabbing onto her sleeve to get her attention. She smiles down at him as she gets down onto one knee. Now level with him, she grabs his hands in her own.

"Not yet. I've got some explaining to do for Mr. Levi, who you should all be very thankful for." Isilya sends a small smile to Levi, who widens his eyes as he realizes what she has done. He doesn't have time to count, but he's sure at least twelve kids have surrounded him in a large, messy hug. Shouts of 'Thank you, Mr. Levi' echo around the room as he glares at Isilya. She pretends not to notice his threatening gaze as she pulls Lillian into the opposite corner of the room.

"I can't go back." Isilya stares into Lillian's eyes, willing her to understand how serious she is. They're both quiet, though the rest of the room is filled with noise. Lillian sighs.

"I understand." Lillian's quick acceptance makes Isilya freeze. She opens her mouth, then closes it.

"There could still be kids out there in this world who deserve to go home to their own. To ours. We don't know how big this is or how long it's been going on. It could still be going on." Lillian rubs her own hands as she speaks, staring down at the now clean skin. Isilya stares at her, surprised that her reckless friend is thinking this through so much.

"I'm not a leader. I'm don't think things through when I'm under pressure. Not like you can. But, I'll do whatever I can to help you from our world. I'll be your girl behind the computer, give you food, or whatever you need. If I can get my job back, or once I find a new one, I'll give you a small part of my paycheck every week."

"I can't ask you for that. That's too much." Isilya shakes her head. Lillian pauses the movement of her hands and scoffs as she stares at Isilya.

"If you don't take it, then you'll have to get a job here. That means less time focusing on stopping this from happening to others. And the only jobs you can get down here are probably-" Isilya quickly cuts Lillian off, shaking her head furiously.

"I know, I know." Isilya sighs. She stares at the floor, silent.

"Besides," Lillian begins, "You're not asking me to give you anything. I'm telling you that I'm giving it to you, anyways." After a moment, Isilya nods her head.

"Fine. Thank you for the help." Lillian barks out a laugh at her friend's words. She shakes her head, lets out a tired smile, and shrugs.

"It's the least I can do."

With shared half smiles, the two girls turn to watch as Levi attempts to push the children away from him.

"Get off of my leg, brat." Levi manages to pull one off from his left leg. Within a few seconds, another has attached itself to his other leg. They continue to crowd around him, asking him questions about where he learned to fight and what it was like growing up in this world. A few of them try to tell him about their own world, their stories lost in the noise.

Levi's eyes meet Isilya's and she smirks at him. After a moment of looking into his pained eyes, Isilya lets her lips fall into a frown. He actually needs help. She curses at herself internally. Growing up in this world, specifically underground, must've been terrible. Having the children ask all of these questions is probably overwhelming for him.

"Alright, everyone!" All the kids freeze and turn to look at her, some of them still holding onto Levi.

"Let's figure out how to work this portal, huh?" Isilya puts on her most convincing smile as the kids cheer and begin to talk to one another about what they'll do when they get home.

* * *

Isilya stands over the guard she had knocked unconscious earlier. Levi is at her side, staring down at the man and the large bundle he's tied to. Before everyone had entered this room, Isilya had asked Levi to do one more thing. He found a blanket and covered the dead body that Isilya had tied the guard to.

Isilya sends Levi a thankful look. He blinks at her, then turns back to the guard. Some of the children surround them, watching curiously. Most of them sit on the other side of the room, distracting themselves with talk of their pasts and of their futures. They chose to stay far away from the man who had helped kidnap them.

Levi reaches his hand back and slaps the guard, making the man fall to the side. He groans as he hits the ground. Slowly, the man's eyes open. It takes him a moment, but he realizes what's going on and struggles to sit up. He tugs at the ropes around his body and tries to force his wrists apart. He glances up at the group surrounding him, fear in his eyes.

"You're going to help us." Isilya states. The guard looks at her, then at the intimidating man standing next to her.

"The rest of your coworkers are already dead. You don't want to be next, do you?" As if on cue, Levi crosses his arms as Isilya delivers her threat. The guard stares at the two of them then drops his head low as he shakes it.

"Good boy. Now tell us how to move the portal." The guard looks up at Isilya as she speaks. He remains silent for a moment, then sighs.

"Where do you want it?" The guard questions them, his voice a defeated whisper.

Lillian steps forward from behind Levi. She moves to stand by Isilya's other side, but hesitates and remains a step behind her instead.

"In my apartment. One of the closets there." The guard stares at Lillian and nods once she's done speaking. He turns to Isilya.

"I'll need my hands." He states, lifting up his bound wrists. Isilya glances at Levi, who continues to stare at the guard. He narrows his eyes and nods once. Isilya crouches down to be eye-level with the guard, pulling out one of her knives.

"If you try anything, Clyde..." Isilya doesn't bother to finish her sentence as the man in front of her gulps. He stares at the blade she holds, then looks up to Levi. His eyes go back and forth between the two. He looks towards the door of the room for a moment, then back at the blade in front of his face. He nods at her, eyes wide.

Isilya places the knife between Clyde's wrists and watches him for a moment. She glares at him and then quickly cuts the rope. He lets out a breath and carefully unties the rest of the rope around his body. When he realizes what and who he's tied to, he pauses. Isilya stares down at him as he covers his mouth. Levi steps forward, demanding the guard's attention.

"Hurry up." Levi states, his expression never changing. Clyde stays frozen, staring up at Levi like he's looking at the devil. Levi narrows his eyes a fraction and steps closer to the man on the floor. Clyde quickly stands up. Hh holds his hands up in surrender.

"Okay. Okay, okay, okay." He nods to Levi a few times, showing that he understands the threat. He slowly walks to one of the nearby tables, making sure to keep his hands in the air the whole time. Isilya keeps a close eye on him as he moves. Levi glares, looking for any sign that Clyde might try something. Clyde puts his hands down on a locked box.

"I'll need to open this." He states. Levi walks over to him and holds out his hand. Clyde makes a defeated face and reaches into his pockets. He pulls out a key and drops it onto Levi's palm. Levi examines the key, then motions for Clyde to step back. He puts the key into the lock and turns it, opening the box.


	6. Safety and Loss

"What are these?" Levi's monotone voice makes it sound like a statement instead of a question as he stares at the strange metal contraptions in the box. He picks one of them up, examining it as it dangles in his hand.

"Be careful!" Clyde shouts, snatching it from Levi's grasp. He quickly realizes what he's done, holding his hands up in a mock surrender as Levi glares at him

"They're gloves. Okay? I'm not going to- I'm not trying- I won't try anything, I swear. I have to put them on to work with the portals." Clyde stutters and shrinks under Levi's gaze. After a moment, Levi looks away and makes eye contact with Isilya. She chews at her bottom lip. She looks behind her at all of the kids in the room. Charlie. Lillian. Her face hardens and she nods once to Clyde. He puts on both of the gloves and walks over to the wardrobe with the portal in it. Levi, Isilya, Lillian, and a small crowd of the younger kids follow after him. He reaches towards the wardrobe and Levi grasps his upper arm. His grip tightens as Clyde looks at him. No words are needed for Clyde to understand the warning. He hesitantly nods and then opens the wardrobe. Holding his hands out in front of him, he closes his eyes.

"Don't you need, like, my address or something?" Lillian speaks up from behind Isilya. Clyde opens his eyes to look at her and shakes his head.

"No. I just have to picture it in my head because I've already been- I mean- I..." Clyde trails off. Nobody moves or says anything for a moment. He clears his throat and shuts his eyes again.

"I can set up the portals anywhere I've been before." His voice is quiet and full of guilt. Isilya notices that Lillian's hands are shaking. She grabs one of Lillian's hands with her own.

"Then do it." Isilya spits out her words. Levi watches her and Lillian out of the corner of his eye, but everyone turns to stare at Clyde as he starts to move his hands. The portal slowly starts to move along with him, like a dance partner following his lead. His hands continue to weave through the air, conducting the portal as it slowly begins to turn a dull blue color, the city apartment fading away. After another few seconds, the color begins to form shapes. Then the shapes begin to turn different colors.

Lillian suddenly gasps. She lets go of Isilya's hand and walks towards the portal, reaching out to it as the shapes finalize their form and the blue color fully fades away. Clyde puts his hands down and Levi makes quick work of taking the gloves off of him. Lillian reaches through the portal. A small ripple goes through the air as her arm fully extends. It's the only way they can see the portal now. Lillian lets out a short laugh, her face lighting up as her fingers come in contact with the clothes hanging in the wardrobe. She pushes them to her left and slides open the closet door on the other side of the clothing.

Beyond the clothing is a large, messy bedroom. Pink blankets are haphazardly placed on the bed along with some random articles of clothing. A bookshelf on the far side of the room displays random trinkets between textbooks and journals. There's a desk by the window with pens and pencils scattered over it.

"It's just how I left it." Lillian tears up as she stares at the room. After a moment, she retracts her hand back into this world. Isilya steps forward and places her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Is it safe?" Isilya doesn't look at Clyde as she questions him.

"Yes. It's stabilized." Lillian steps forward, letting Isilya's hand fall from her shoulder. She takes a deep breath in and then steps through the portal, the air rippling around her as she moves through it. She pauses on the other side of the clothing and looks around the room. Her shoulders begin to shake. When she turns around, tears are streaming down her face, but her mouth is set in a smile.

As Lillian begins to walk around the room, Isilya gathers up the children. Levi pulls Clyde away from the portal and stands with him. They both watch as Isilya sends the children into Lillian's apartment one by one. Lillian greets them from the other side, guiding them into the kitchen to see what food she can make for them. A few of the older kids help once they get through.

Charlie patiently waits by Isilya's side. His hands are clasped neatly in front of himself, as that is how he had been trained to stand and wait for orders. As the last few children begin to go through the portal, he begins to fidget. Finally, once he's the only one left, he grabs his small backpack from the floor by his side and unzips it. He reaches up and grabs Isilya's hand to get her attention. When she turns to look at him, he sniffles.

"If you can't come with us yet, Muma, then I want you to have this until you can come back." Charlie pulls out a small, green stuffed bear from his bag and holds it up to her. Isilya stares down at it. It's the same shade of green as his hair.

"Charlie..." Isilya trails off as she gets down onto a knee to be at his level. She pushes the bear back into his chest.

"I might not come back for a long time. There are some things I need to do here and I don't know how long it will take."

"Then you should keep Mr. Scout with you to keep you safe." As soon as Charlie is done speaking, Isiya pulls him into a hug, Mr. Scout right in-between them. Once she pulls away, she smiles at him.

"I'll be okay here. If Mr. Scout is good at keeping people safe then I want him to stay with you. Okay?" Isilya stares at the teddy bear and puts on a serious face.

"I'm trusting you, Mr. Scout. Protect Charlie at all costs." She stands up to salute the bear and Charlie bursts out laughing. He rushes forwards and hugs Isilya's legs. Isilya reaches down and wraps her arms around him.

"This looks like almost everyone. Wait, where's Charlie?" Lillian shows up on the other side of the portal after a few seconds. Isilya lets go of Charlie with a smile and turns to look at Lillian. The two girls stare at each other, not sure what to say. Lillian steps through the portal and hugs Isilya tightly. They stay like that for a few moments. When they let go of one another, Charlie zips up his backpack and puts in on. He reaches for Lillian's hand.

"Do you want some goldfish?" Lillian questions Charlie as she grabs his hand in her own. He smiles and nods vigorously. Isilya leans down and plants a kiss on his forehead, waving as they walk through the portal. Charlie lets go of Lillian's hand as he sees some of his friends in the kitchen. He smiles and runs towards them, out of Isilya's view. Lillian turns to look at Isilya from her side of the portal.

"Now what?" Lillian watches as Isilya turns to Clyde and Levi. Levi hands Clyde the gloves with one hand, his other hand staying behind his back. Clyde nods and puts the gloves on again.

"What do you want me to do with it?" He questions, getting in position in front of the portal.

"Are you able to shrink it? And maybe make it so nobody can see through it?" Isilya questions, an unsure look on her face.

"Yes. I can also make it so it can only be activated by a certain hand movement. If you put your finger through it and make a certain motion then you can lock it, in a way. Nothing can go through it from either side. Then if you do it again, it will unlock. If somebody else tries to put their hand there, nothing will happen if they don't know the motion." Clyde answers her with a bit of pride in his voice. Isilya rolls her eyes.

"Okay. Let's do that." Isilya states. Lillian nods in agreement.

"And if I don't?" Clyde's voice wavers slightly as he speaks. He tries to seem relaxed and confident as he examines the gloves on his hands.

"What?" Isilya blinks at him. Clyde hesitates, then looks up at her.

"If I do this, you're going to kill me anyways. So I'm not going to do this until you-" Isilya wastes no time in interrupting him.

"We're not going to kill you. You think I want to be a monster like you are?" She shakes her head in disgust.

"We're going to let you finish this, then you're going to teach me everything you know about the portals. Then, you'll leave the gloves and we'll let you go. You'll be in the underground, but you'll be alive. You're welcome." Levi stares at Isilya as she says this. He narrows his eyes at her words, but she ignores him, focusing entirely on Clyde. Levi sighs and catches Clyde's attention.

"But if you don't do it, then we'll kill you and figure it out ourselves." Levi states, his face as bored as it always seems to be. Clyde lets out a wild laugh.

"It will take you months, or years to know what I know. So you can't threaten me with death. You _need_ me to teach you."

"Are you sure about that? Because I have all of the time in the world now that I'm free from Zak and the rest of you monsters. I wouldn't mind ending your miserable life right now. Lillian can supply me with food to survive and money to buy weapons to protect myself while I sit here and learn what you have learned, even if it does take me years." Isilya's throat burns as she speaks. It's still sore but she doesn't allow it to slow her down.

"We are being merciful, especially after what you've done. So what're you going to do? Cooperate and stay alive, or will you make me kill you right now?" Isilya puts on her most stoic face. Silently, she begs him to agree to her terms. She's seen enough death today to last her a lifetime. She doesn't want to have to kill this man. She doesn't want to watch Levi do it, either. She takes a moment to remind herself that this is the man that has created the portals. If he hadn't made them, then Zak and his men would've never been able to come here and start this disgusting business. With that thought, Isilya hardens her facade.

Clyde stares into Isilya's eyes. He can see a madness inside of her. The madness of somebody who has lost everything and is still willing to lose more if it means she will keep others safe. Clyde shakily nods his head, agreeing to her terms. He clears his throat.

"This is how you lock it." His voice is a terrified whisper as he sticks his fingers into the portal and makes a clockwise circle. Once his finger is at the top of the circle, he makes a downward motion, then moves his finger to the right. He pulls his hand out of it, then tries to put it back in. His fingers stop as if there's a piece of glass between them and Lillian. Everyone stares as he makes the motion again on the surface of the portal. Once he finishes, he sticks his and through successfully. Isilya walks forward and copies the motion. She is able to lock and unlock it. After she makes Lillian try as well, she nods to Clyde.

"Now shrink it and make it invisible." Clyde does what Isilya says. She watches his every movement. When he's finished, Isilya carefully pushes her hand through the portal. It looks as if her hand is simply disappearing into the wood of the wardrobe. She pulls her hand back out. Lillian's hand suddenly appears from beyond the portal.

"Can you still hear me?" Isilya questions.

"Yes. Can you hear me?" Lillian sounds as if she's standing right in front of Isilya.

"Yes. I'm going to lock the portal for now."

"Okay." Lillian's hand disappears as she pulls it back. Isilya sticks her fingers into the portal and moves it in a circle, then a vertical line slicing through the portal, and lastly a horizontal line to the right. She retracts her hand and then moves it forward. It bumps into what looks like the wood of the wardrobe, but Isilya can feel a very slight difference as she moves her hand around the area. She stands up and turns toward Clyde.

Clyde holds out his hands for Isilya to take the gloves. As she reaches out to do so, he grabs her arm and throws her into Levi. She falls against him and together they fall into the wall. Clyde begins to move his hands in the air, another portal opening up before him. Levi and Isilya quickly untangle themselves and rush towards him as the portal begins to stabilize. Each of them grabs one of his arms.

"No, no! I'd rather die than live in this hell hole!" Clyde thrashes about, trying his best to get away as the portal he was forming begins to close. As it fully closes, he yanks his arm from Isilya's grasp. She stumbles back but is able to rip the glove from his hand. Clyde uses his free hand to punch Levi in the face, getting him to loosen his hold. Clyde twists his arm out of Levi's grasp and runs to one of the tables, grabbing a knife from it. As Levi and Isilya rush towards him again, he deeply slits his own throat.

"No!" Isilya screeches, standing over Clyde's body. Levi stands by her side. They stare at him as he bleeds out.


	7. The Lab

"He's got to have written this down somewhere. Hopefully, he kept his research in this world." Isilya mumbles to herself as Levi and her search through the large building. Isilya had only been in a few of the rooms in the time that she's been there, so she had no idea what most of the rooms are. As they look, they find out that most of the rooms are bedrooms. There's a large kitchen connected to the main room, small rooms between each of the bedrooms that the guards used to check in on their customers, and a few small storage rooms.

Eventually, they find what appears to be a lab of sorts. Books and tools are scattered all over a long desk in the corner and on the floor. The walls are covered in diagrams of the portals and of the mechanical gloves that Clyde had designed. Notes are messily scribbled on sticky notes and stuck onto the diagrams. Pictures of places from both worlds hang above the desk.

Isilya walks around the room, taking in as much information as she can. She grabs an open journal from the desk and flips through the pages. She puts down the journal and picks up another one.

"Will you be able to figure it out from all of this?" Levi stays in the doorway, his eyes examining the room. He stares at Isilya as she flips through the journal in her hands.

"Probably. There's so much information here. It'll take me awhile to get through it all, but..." Isilya trails off, her nose buried in the book as she reads through a section of it. She looks up as Levi turns and leaves the room. She puts down the journal and runs to the doorway, stopping when she sees him walking back toward the stairs.

"Where are you going?" She stays just outside of the room, watching him get further and further away.

"None of your business." Levi doesn't bother looking at her as he continues to walk to the stairs. She watches him for another few seconds, then glances back at the lab. She considers letting him go without saying anything. Maybe he'll leave and she'll never see him again. Or maybe he'll come back and expect some sort of payment for his help. She's seen him in action. He's stronger than her and now he has her taser flashlight. Isilya curses herself for putting so much trust into this stranger so quickly. She was desperate, but did she make the wrong decision? She shudders at the thought. Either way, she knows that she can't go back on what she told him. He helped her get the kids back home like he said he would. Now it's her turn to do what she said she would. Unlike the men she's been stuck with for many months, she tries her best to be honest and true to her word.

"I thought you wanted answers. About the portals. About my world." Levi pauses at the bottom of the stairs, closing his eyes and letting out a breath. After a moment, he turns to meet her eyes.

* * *

Isilya and Levi search through the lab, skimming through books, journals, diagrams, and data. Isilya is surprised to see that most of what she looks through is in different languages. Not just one language, but many. Sometimes it seems like it switches mid-sentence. Levi slowly begins to lose interest, not being able to understand much of what he's reading. Isilya continues to look at everything, deciphering what she can. She eventually finds a book in a language that she recognizes more of than some others.

"I should've paid more attention in my High School Spanish class." She mutters to herself as she tries to recall what some of the familiar looking words mean.

Levi ends up sitting at the desk, staring at the pictures on the wall. They must be locations in Isilya's world. He stares at them and decides that they are not simple drawings. They're the same quality as the files they had found upstairs in Zak's office with the pictures of all of the kids. Levi considers asking Isilya how they are made but instead decides to ask her about what has really been bothering him. He realizes that Isilya hasn't seen much of the Underground, but she knows what kind of business happens down here. She knows what a lot of the people are like.

"Why did you stay behind?" He watches her as she continues to read through the book in her hands.

"I need to make sure that Zak hasn't been working with others who know about the portals. Others who might use them to do this to other people, other kids." Isilya's voice is quiet as she responds. She doesn't look up at him as she flips to the next page of the book. Levi considers her words for a few minutes.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" This causes Isilya to look up at him. She doesn't say anything for a few seconds, then she sighs. Placing the book on the bookshelf next to her, she turns to give him her full attention.

"I know that this world, specifically this Underground City, is bad. But, my world isn't great either." Isilya sighs as Levi narrows his eyes at her. She bites down on her bottom lip and stares at the floor.

"I know. It must seem like a paradise to you compared to this place. And there aren't any titans there, but..." Isilya blinks a few times and takes a deep breath in. She holds it for a few seconds before letting it go.

"But there are plenty of other monsters." She slowly looks up to meet Levi's gaze. He still seems skeptical.

"I have nothing to go back to, okay? Nobody in that world will miss me and I have nobody and nothing to miss. Besides, if I change my mind... Well, I'm planning on figuring out how to make and control the portals. I'll open a new one into my world, then." Isilya gets quieter and quieter as she speaks. She turns back to the book, opens it back up, and leans against the bookshelf.

Levi is silent for a few minutes as he considers her words. Then, he pulls something out of his pocket, walks over to her, and hands her a small, green bear. Isilya takes it from his hands and stares at it. She opens her mouth to speak but Levi cuts her off.

"Charlie gave it to me. He said you needed it more than he did." Isilya continues to look down at it, then eventually puts the bear in one of the larger pockets of the cloak. As Levi sits back down at the desk, Isilya continues reading through the book and quietly thanks him. He doesn't respond.

Over the next few hours, Levi begins to ask Isilya every question he can think of about her world. She answers everything to the best of her ability and silently wishes she had paid more attention in school. He asks about the words in the books and she gives him a brief explanation of different cultures and languages. He asks about the skyscrapers he saw in the portal. He asks about phones and the internet. Cars and planes. Computers and electricity. He listens to her tell him about what life is like without the titans. He barely believes her when she tells him that there isn't a shortage of food, although it is unevenly distributed and often wasted. There are many things he doesn't think he can believe, but after everything he's seen today, he doesn't think he has a good reason to doubt her.

Eventually, once Levi has gotten as much information as he thinks he can handle for one day, he stands up to leave. He looks around the room and at the organized piles of books that Isilya has created as she worked on answering his questions. He thinks about what Isilya had said earlier. It could be possible that Zak was working with other people, so others might know of this location. Even if that isn't true, there could still be past customers coming here expecting to see Zak and the others.

"You shouldn't stay here," Levi states, watching Isilya add another book to a tall pile. She picks up a book from another shelf and nods as if she's considering his words.

"I've decided to stay here." Isilya nods again to herself as she places the book on a shorter pile. Levi stares at her, unamused. She meets his eyes and they stare at one another, neither backing down. After a few seconds, Levi sighs and looks away, walking over to the door of the room. Isilya quickly takes his cloak off and hands it out to him. He stares at the black fabric in her arms and then at her. He shakes his head.

"Keep it. As a trade for the taser flashlight." Levi pulls the taser from his pocket to show her and then slides it back in. Isilya hesitantly nods and puts the cloak on again. She looks down as she fastens it and is surprised to see Levi still in the doorway when she looks up.

"If you're going to stay then we'll need to secure this place," Levi states, turning around and walking down the hall to get to work.

* * *

It's been a week since everyone left. Lillian put some food in a small cooler in her closet for Isilya. She also left some extra clothes and a laptop with a charger plugged into the wall. Isilya has been painstakingly translating the books and miscellaneous notes.

Lillian reached out to the police and they've been able to reunite most of the children with their parents. Some of them were harder to find or they lived in a different city or country so they took longer to contact and for them to get to the children.

When the police questioned everyone, they tried to be as honest as possible. Men had kidnapped them and kept them in a mostly underground facility. They were forced to do terrible things. Eventually, a stranger showed up and helped them escape. He helped them back to Lillian's apartment. Nobody knows where the man who saved them went. None of them remember where the building was, but they know that the men who kidnapped them all were killed. Some of the smaller kids try to tell the police about the magical portal, but none of the cops believe it or bother to look into it. They're too distracted trying to deal with the crying and screaming of the parents and the kids. Because of how busy this has made Lillian, Isilya hasn't seen her since she left. Instead, they leave one another notes in the dresser for the other to read when they have time.

Isilya hasn't seen Levi since then, either. Before he left, he had taken care of the bodies. She doesn't know where he put them or what he did with them. She didn't ask. He also helped her make a few escape tunnels from different ends on the building. He made the front door practically impossible to get in and out of. Nobody who knew what the building used to be used for would be able to bother Isilya.

With the tunnels, Isilya could easily go explore the Underground City. She considers it almost daily, but instead, she throws herself into research. It has been a slow process of translating the different languages. And it doesn't help that Lillian's internet is terribly slow.

* * *

Isilya sits at the long desk, slowly eating a pop-tart as she compares her notes with another journal that was mostly written in Spanish. Her eyes scan the same page for the third time. With a sigh, she puts down the journal and stares at the pictures above the desk. She recognizes some of them as different places in Los Angeles. Some of them are other, more widely known landmarks. The Eiffel Tower. The Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Venice Canals. The rest of the pictures are seemingly random areas that Isilya doesn't recognize. She finishes eating her pop-tart and picks up the journal again.

Isilya gets halfway through the page when she hears a noise coming from somewhere down the hall. Slowly, she puts the journal down on the desk and stands up, pulling a knife out from her boot as she does so. She silently walks over to the door of the lab, taking a deep breath and standing behind it. Flipping her hood over her head, she waits, straining to hear anything. Silence. Then, after a moment, footsteps. They getting louder, closer. They stop just outside of the door to the lab. Isilya forces herself to keep her breathing even as she drops into an offensive stance.

The doorknob turns. It swings open. Isilya's eyes widen when the person steps through the door. Levi glances down at the knife in her hand and rolls his eyes.

"Put the knife down, brat," Levi tells her. He walks over to the desk as Isilya relaxes. She lowers the knife and takes the hood away from her head. Levi looks up at her for a moment. She has her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. She's still wearing his cloak and another pair of black leggings. He looks down to read through her notes.

"You need to fix your hair." Isilya furrows her brow at Levi's words.

"Excuse you?" She crosses her arms and stares at him. He sits down in the chair and puts his feet up on the desk. She knows that his shoes are clean, and there wasn't anything on that side of the desk, so she bites her tongue to avoid saying anything.

"You said you people do that to yourselves. Can you undo it?" Levi finally looks up at her for more than a second. Isilya blinks. Then she laughs. Levi narrows his eyes slightly.

"I'm serious. It will draw too much attention." Levi states. Isilya calms down and nods.

"I know, but..." She trails off, reaching up to twirl her hair around her fingers. She had dyed her hair blue for years. When she was kidnapped, the men had brought her blue dye to maintain her hair. They also brought dye for everyone else they had kidnapped. They wanted their products to continue to be unique and strange in this world. The kids were in charge of dying their own hair. Though they were forced to keep it up, it had become something almost comforting to most of them. It was one of the only times they were sure to be left alone.

Because the men are no longer here, she won't be able to keep it blue. She could ask Lillian for some dye, but she knows that Lillian is already busy and that her hair is one of the least important things to worry about. But, as she stares down at the blue strands in her hand, she thinks of her little sister. She had been so excited when Isilya first dyed her hair. Since then, Isilya had maintained the color, even though her sister hasn't been around to see it for a long time. Isilya looks up at Levi and sighs.

"Kind of. It's a permanent dye. I can change the color by dying it again, but it will cost money. Or I could shave my head." Isilya absentmindedly continues to play with her hair as she speaks. Levi looks up at the part of her head that has already been shaved. The scars on her scalp stand at attention in their neat rows. He pulls his eyes away from them when Isilya continues to talk.

"My hair is naturally brown. It will grow back out into that color, eventually." Isilya looks away from her hair to meet Levi's eyes. They stare at one another for a while before he looks away with a grunt of defeat. After a moment, he stands up and stares at her. She tilts her head to the side and raises an eyebrow. Without warning, Levi advances towards Isilya. Her eyes widen at his speed and at the deadly look on his face. It reminds her of how he advanced on some of the kidnappers. Instinctively, she raises her knife and drops into a defensive stance.


	8. Alone

Isilya knew that it was silly how much trust she had put in this stranger. She knew he could turn on her at any point. She also knew that something about this attack was strange. He could've attacked her after Clyde killed himself. He could've attacked her while they were searching through the lab, or when he was blocking the front entrance, or making the escape tunnels. There were many times where he could've killed her or taken advantage of her, but he didn't. He continued to help her. Only now does he show any sort of bad intentions towards her. As he continues to advance on her, she throws those thoughts to the side. She doesn't know what changed, but she doesn't have time to think about it. The only thing she can think about is survival.

All of these thoughts rush through Isilya's mind in the few seconds it takes for Levi to be in front of her. He swings at her. She automatically ducks, throwing her arms over her head and keeping a firm grip on her knife. Levi steps forward. Isilya stumbles back as he swings his fist again. She falls to the ground. Levi pulls his leg back to kick her. She rolls to her side and swings her knife as his foot approaches her face. The sounds of ripping fabric and staggered breathing fill the room.

Levi stares down at the cut in this pants as Isilya scrambles away from him on all fours. She struggles to her feet. She grabs the door with shaking hands. Without looking behind her, she throws herself into the hallway, allowing the door to slam shut.

Isilya only makes it a few steps before she can hear the door opening again. She pushes herself to run faster. Levi's footsteps echo her own. Within seconds, he has her pinned to the wall. She yelps in pain as he grips her wrists. His hold gets tighter and tighter until she's forced to drop the knife. In a panic, Isilya throws her head forward to scream in his face. He moves his head back in time to avoid a head-butt. While he's distracted by her screaming and her attempted attack, she kicks him in the shins. Levi curses and loosens his grip slightly.

Isilya manages to slip out and make it two steps before Levi has his arms wrapped around her from behind. She cries out. She allows her body to go limp for a second. The shift in weight and lack of response surprises Levi enough for her to almost slip out of his grasp again. Before she can fully get away, his arms tighten around her again. He pushes her front against the wall, pressing his own body against hers to limit how much she can move. She struggles against him, causing him to push against her more. One of his arms wraps around her throat. Isilya freezes. Levi's grip doesn't tighten. They both stand there, waiting for the other to do something.

"You're weak as shit. We'll fix that, too." Levi says as he lets go of her, stepping away to the other side of the hall. Isilya turns around to stare at him. Her eyes glance to the knife on the floor, then back to him. He notices and kicks the knife to her. She doesn't move. She compares her defensive position to his relaxed one, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Was that... were you testing me?" Isilya questions, eyeing him as she slowly crouches down to pick up her knife. She keeps it in her hand, at her side, as Levi nods. They both remain silent for a moment, staring at one another. Then, Isilya puts her knife back into her boot, laughing loudly.

Levi narrows his eyes at her. He's confused by her response but is still able to realize that this is the first time he's heard her actually laugh. It's only been a week, but he can already tell she's happier and healthier than she was when they had first met.

"I could've killed you. Is that funny?" Levi stares as Isilya covers her mouth and continues to laugh. Once she's calmed down some, she meets his eyes with her own.

"You were going easy on me." She states. Levi continues to stare at her, then nods once, though they both know it wasn't a question.

"Besides, I almost literally flirted with death every day for the past few months," Isilya smirks at Levi, looking for a response. He stares back at her, eyes narrowed at her attempt at a joke. He isn't sure what to think about this version of Isilya. It's like he's meeting her for the first time again. Levi finally looks away from her. His eyes travel down the hallway to the kitchen door.

* * *

Levi sits down across from Isilya at the kitchen table. He sets a cup of tea in front of her and takes a sip of his own. Isilya stares into her recently cleaned teacup, then at Levi, watching him drink from his own. She can almost see her reflection in it.

"You're rather clean for someone who grew up in the Underground," Isilya states, picking up her own cup of tea and taking a small drink from it, "And you have decent manners for a murderer and a liar." Isilya watches Levi as she speaks. He doesn't react to her words at all.

"Where did you learn to defend yourself like that?" His question catches her off guard. She blinks a few times, taking another sip of her tea. Levi waits for her to respond.

"My brother," Isilya answers him quietly. When he stares at her and doesn't say anything in response, she continues.

"We grew up in a bad part of town. We couldn't afford a car so I walked between school, work, and home by myself every day. My brother was going to school and working full-time, too, so he taught me some basic self-defense to take care of myself." Isiya pauses, staring at Levi.

"Normally, I'd also have my taser flashlight as well." She adds. Levi shifts and pulls the taser flashlight out of his pocket. He sets it on the table by her teacup. She opens her mouth to say something, but he shakes his head.

"You need it. I don't." Levi picks up his cup and sips his tea. Isilya does the same with her own cup. They sit in silence for a few minutes, neither doing anything other than enjoying their drinks.

"What have you found so far?" Isilya groans at Levi's question. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"I've found that not only are the journals in other languages but after I translated some of them, I found that some parts are also in a code." Isilya puts her face in her hands and sighs.

"I've figured out one of the smaller journals, though." Isilya drinks the last of the tea from her cup and leans back into her chair.

"I'm pretty sure there are portals between our worlds that exist naturally. Clyde found one a few years ago. He set up a lab around it and was eventually able to replicate it, but he didn't write down how he did it. Or at least not in the same book." Levi stands up with his teacup and grabs Isilya's cup, too. He walks to the washbasin and begins cleaning both of the cups. He turns his head slightly towards Isilya. She takes this as a sign that he's still listening.

"He also found that there are different types of portals. Like the portal that he set up in the wardrobe. We could see through it at first, but then he made it so nobody could see anything from either side, right?" Levi nods once, setting one of the cups on the drying rack on the counter.

"He's really vague in most of what I've decoded so far, but I think that some of the naturally occurring portals are like that, too. They exist in different types and shapes. All of the ones he's found have been small. Almost unnoticeable." Levi puts the other cup up on the rack and starts to go through the cabinets. Isilya stands up and walks over to him. She opens one of the cabinets under the sink and pulls out a small pile of rags. She holds out the pile to Levi, who picks up the first two and stares at them. He squints at the first one and puts it back into Isilya's hands. She puts the rest of the rags back in the cabinet as Levi dries the cups.

"Anything else?" Levi questions, putting the cups in the cabinet he'd grabbed them from earlier. Isilya nods.

"Clyde had a device he invented to hold the portals in place, kind of. But that was before he made the gloves that I have now. Before, he had to set up this large door-looking thing wherever he wanted to travel to. But with the gloves, it's possible to set up a portal anywhere, as long as one side of the portal is attached to something solid." Levi sends Isilya a bored look.

"So theoretically, one portal could be set up against the kitchen wall and the other side could be ninety feet in the air." Isilya gestures into the air as she finishes talking. Levi leans against the counter to look at her.

"Have you created a portal yet?" Levi's question causes Isilya to deflate. She bites her bottom lip and slowly shakes her head.

"I haven't even figured out how to activate the gloves." Isilya stares at the floor with her brow furrowed. Levi pushes himself off of the counter and walks to the kitchen door.

"I'll be back in two days. You'll start learning how to defend yourself better." Before Isilya can respond, Levi walks out of the door. She listens as his footsteps fade away.

* * *

Isilya sighs as Levi wraps his arms around her again. She tilts her head back onto his shoulder to stare at him. He looks back at her with his usual cold expression.

"Again?" She asks. Levi glares at her. His arms tighten around her.

"I'll take that as a yes." She mumbles. She pulls her head off of his shoulder and prepares herself.

"Remember what I told you last time." Levi reprimands her. Isilya nods.

"Yea, yea. I remember." Isilya focuses, paying attention to where Levi's arms are and how much she can or can't move because of them. With a breath in, she raises her arms as much as she can. When she feels Levi's arms tense against her, she makes quick work of moving her leg around and behind his own and pulling it forward. Levi falls backward with Isilya still in his grasp. As he hits the ground, Isilya elbows him in the ribs. Levi lets out a small grunt as she rolls away. Isilya continues her roll into a standing position, offering Levi a hand. As usual, he doesn't take it.

"That was... better." Levi dusts himself off as he stands up by himself, not bothering to look at Isilya.

"Better as in it wasn't the worst I've done or better as in you're willing to teach me more offensive moves?" Isilya grins at Levi, hope in her eyes. He pauses to look at her. He narrows his eyes.

"Up and down the stairs ten times. The hall, fifteen times." Levi watches as Isilya's shoulders slump. She grumbles something as she walks by him and out into the hallway. He follows her, leaning against the wall as she begins to run down the hall.

For the last three weeks, Levi has been stopping by every few days to train with Isilya. He's been teaching her how to get out of different holds and making her work on her endurance. The goal is for her to be able to get away from a situation, instead of having to engage. But after a while, Isilya had gotten restless. She begs him every time he comes over to teach her more than defense.

Levi's eyes follow Isilya as she passes by him. In the last month, she's become much stronger. And with the food that she's getting from Lillian, she's become much healthier than she's been since she was forced into this world.

Isilya has also managed to learn more about the portal gloves. She's been able to activate them. They glow a dull silver color when she puts them on. However, she hasn't successfully formed a portal. Levi had been with her when she got close. She had demanded that he stay to eat with her one night after he had made her run the up and down the hall and stairs for half an hour.

 _Lillian had gotten Isilya some burgers. Looking forward to that was the only thing that made her complain less while she ran. Levi had asked her why she was being so quiet compared to her usual self. She told him she was thinking about her favorite burger restaurant down the road from her house in Los Angeles. When Isilya passed by him on her last minute, Levi told her he'd never had a burger. Isilya had immediately stopped running and pulled out her phone to check the time. She sped up and finished her last minute with excitement, then ran into the storage room. Levi followed her in to see her pull a full meal out of the dresser. Two juicy burgers with lettuce, tomato, and onion, with ketchup and mustard packets on the side. Isilya had offered one to Levi, but before he could answer, she grabbed him and pulled him into the kitchen._

 _They sat there, Levi skeptically sniffing the food on his plate and Isilya staring at him as she waited for him to take a bite. Eventually, she couldn't wait anymore and started eating hers. Levi watched with amusement as Isilya let out a small moan. She then explained to him that she hadn't had a burger in months. Levi has raised an eyebrow at her, and finally tried a bite of his own. It was gone in under a minute._

 _After that, she had led him into the lab, showing him the progress she had made with the gloves. She admitted that she didn't fully understand how they worked, but was able to form the beginnings of small portals. She had raised her arms and they flowed through the air, graceful and beautiful. Levi had followed her every move, eyes widening as two, tiny, silver circles began to form a few feet away from each other. They faded out of existence, Isilya letting out an exhausted breath and wiping sweat from her brow. She wobbled and Levi reached out to steady her, eyes not leaving the spot where the portal had been. Isilya had accepted his offer of stability and leaned into him, smiling as she took off the gloves._

Isilya passes by Levi again, breathing heavily. He blinks and reminds himself to focus on the present.

"Number?" He shouts after her.

"13!" She yells as she reaches the end of the hall, turning around to head back toward him.

Levi watches Isilya as she completes her work out. Then, as usual, she cleans herself up and goes into the lab to translate more notes and practice with the gloves more. Meanwhile, Levi takes some of the food from Lillian's dresser and watches Isilya practice for a while before he leaves for the night. She doesn't notice that he's left until she nearly collapses from exhaustion.

Isilya lays on the floor and sighs. She thinks of Lillian and the notes they leave for one another. It's been over a week since they've talked face to face.

Isilya thinks of Charlie. Lillian left a note saying that he's doing fine and is enjoying school. All of the other kids that Lillian has been able to keep in contact with are doing good as well.

Isilya thinks of Levi. He's done so much for her has and asked for so little in return. He refuses to take an even half of the food that Lillian leaves for Isilya.

Isilya sighs. While she lays on the floor, thinking of what her life has become, she realizes something. She doesn't regret any of the choices she's made. She also realizes that she feels more alone than she has in years.


	9. Exhaustion

Around a month later, Levi heads across the Underground to train Isilya. Because of a job he had been on, he hadn't seen her for the last week and a half. It was strange. He wasn't exactly sure what it was that he felt, but something inside of him told him that he missed her. He argued with himself as he walked down the street. He probably just missed the food. Or the consistency. He's lived by himself for so long. He's used to being alone, so why would he miss someone he barely knows? Levi clenches his jaw as he continues to walk. He considers turning around and never going to train or even see Isilya again. He isn't attached to her. He doesn't owe her anything. They're not friends. Nobody has real friends in this city.

Levi continues to try to convince himself that he should turn around as he continues walking forward. Then, a thought hits him like a slap to his face. His mom. That's why he helped Lillian in the first place. That's why he met Isilya. That's why he helped those children get back home and why he continues to train Isilya. He tries to push the picture of his mother's face from his mind. He curses himself as he gets sucked into a memory of his mother lying in bed, coughing, smiling to comfort him but cringing in pain. Levi's mother had been in a situation all too similar to Isilya's. But nobody who could help her did anything. Eventually, like almost everyone in the underground, she got sick. She couldn't afford any proper treatment, especially not with having Levi to worry about.

Levi knows that it's stupid to spend so much time with one person. He knows there's the potential to get attached. That can be dangerous for many reasons. Mostly, because people will always leave. Whether it's their choice or not.

As he climbs down into the hidden entrance of the tunnels, Levi lets out a small sigh. All of these conflicting thoughts have him unsure of what he should do. As he exits the tunnel, a hand grabs his arm, pulling on him. Levi's eyes widen as he takes in the sight of Isilya. She's a mess. Any thoughts he had about whether or not he should be helping her get thrown to the side as she pulls him into the hallway. He wonders how she knew he would be coming down the tunnel at that moment. Again, his thoughts are shoved away as he stares at her.

Isilya's hair is pulled up into something resembling a bun. Her scars are halfway hidden by falling strands of her greasy hair, which has grown out an inch since he first met her. He hadn't noticed it when he saw her every few days, but looking at her after not seeing her for a while made him pay attention to it. Her dark roots contrast the bright blue color. The sudden difference makes her look like she's wearing some sort of cloth around her head. Levi looks at the rest of Isilya. She wears a black, cropped sweatshirt with a couple of stains on it. Her black leggings are rolled up on one leg, but at full length on the other.

"You look like shit." Levi states. Isilya doesn't seem to hear him as she pulls him into the lab. She lets go of his arm and runs over to her desk, grabbing the portal gloves and putting them on. As soon as they come in contact with her skin, they begin to glow a dull silver. A crazed smile is on her face, but Levi barely pays attention to it. Instead, he stares at the portal floating in the middle of the room. It's barely larger than his face. It shows him a small section of the alleyway he had just been in. His brows furrow as he stares into it. This must be how Isilya knew he was coming through the tunnel.

Iisilya bounces on the balls of her feet, staring at Levi. He steps towards the portal, pushing his hand against it. It doesn't go through. He looks to her with a raised brow.

"It's locked. And this is the only type of portal I've been able to make and hold, so far. I can only see through it from this side, not the other. And I can't hear through it on either side." Isilya's proud smile never fades as Levi observes the portal.

"From either side?" Levi narrows his eyes at Isilya. She bites her lip and stares at the floor.

"You were gone for almost two weeks. I was- I got," Isilya sighs and looks up at Levi, "I was lonely." Levi blinks. For the first time, he can see how fatigued she is behind her facade.

"And bored! I was bored. I got tired of being in this building by myself so I went up through the different tunnels to see where the entrances were. I figured I should know, in case I ever need to use them." Isilya's eyes roam the room, looking everywhere but at Levi. He observes her for a minute, unsure of what to do or say. Eventually, he turns back to the portal.

"Can you change the shape?" Isilya twists her mouth to the side at Levi's question.

"Kind of." Her voice makes it sound more like a question than an answer.

"I can choose the size or shape when I'm creating it, but I can't do that to one that I've already created," Isilya explains, "Not yet." Isilya's large smile returns as she stares at the portal. Levi can see that familiar fire burning in her eyes. Somehow, though he's absolutely disgusted by how dirty she is right now, he finds her beautiful. Levi surprises himself as he thinks that. So as usual, pushes the unnecessary thought to the side. He meets Isilya's eyes and gestures for her to show him.

Isilya raises her arms, the mechanical gloves glowing brightly. She moves them around in the air as if dancing to music that only she can hear. After a few seconds, the portal fades away. Isilya wipes her brow and lets out a breath. She takes a moment, then raises her arms again. Her face twists as she focuses and moves her hands in a pattern Levi isn't able to follow. A dim silver circle begins to form in the air, larger than the first one. As the alleyway begins to take shape and color through the fog, Isilya grunts and the portal fades away. Levi turns to stare at her, a question in his eyes. She refuses to look at him.

Shaking her head, Isilya readies herself again. She raises her hands and repeats the pattern, sweat forming on her forehead. A silver oval begins to form in the air. Levi notices that it takes longer to begin forming compared to the first attempt. Isilya's breathing grows heavy. Her hands shake as shapes begin to show in the portal. Levi watches her as her legs begin to tremble. He rushes forward to catch her as she falls, the portal fading from sight.

"I'm fine. Let me try again." Isilya struggles out of Levi's arms. She manages to stand on her own but begins to sway as she raises her hands. Levi reaches for her arms and pushes them down. He stares at her, shaking his head once. Isilya sighs and takes off the gloves. They hang from one hand as she forces a smile onto her face.

"Fine. Let's get to training, then. I can work on this later." Isilya takes a few steps towards the door. Levi watches her, sighing when she has to slow down in order to not fall. He walks up behind her and lifts her up to cradle her. Isilya stiffens up in his arms, causing Levi to pause. He stares down at her, waiting for her to say or do anything. She shifts around for a second then slowly gives in to her exhaustion and rests her head against his shoulder.

"When was the last time you bathed? Or slept?" Levi turns his face away from Isilya, scrunching up his nose. He carries her to the bathroom, setting her down on the rim of the bathtub.

"I took a bath right before I ate and I took a nap after that." She answers, staring into the empty tub. Levi glares at her.

"When was the last time you ate?" Levi waits, then clicks his tongue at Isilya's lack of response. Her silence is enough of an answer.

Levi makes quick work of filling up the tub with warm water. He brings her some pajamas from her closet and puts them on top of a folded towel. Once he's satisfied, he looks at Isilya, pointing into the tub. Without another word, he turns and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. He waits outside the door until he hears Isilya climb into the tub. Then, he heads into the kitchen.

* * *

When Isilya walks out of the bathroom Levi immediately picks her up again. She groans.

"Honestly, I'm fine." Levi ignores Isilya's protest. He walks down the hall to the kitchen, setting her down at the table. He carefully watches as she eats the food he'd prepared from what Lillian had left in the wardrobe. He was able to make a simple soup and, of course, some tea. After Isilya finishes, she tries to stand up and take her dishes to the wash basin. Levi swoops in and takes the dishes, placing them on the counter and picking up Isilya again. She sighs.

Levi walks out into the hallway with Isilya in his arms. He pauses, looking at all of the doors. Isilya places her head against Levi's neck and yawns.

"The lab." She states. Levi clicks his tongue.

"No. You're going to bed." He stares down at the top of her head. Isilya moves her head back to look at him. They stare at one another for a moment.

"The lab." She whispers, looking away. Levi watches as she lays her head into the crook of his neck again, then he lets out a small breath and begins walking to the lab. He can't help but compare Isilya to a small child. He's seen so many sides of her in the short time that he's known her, but this one is new. She seems so fragile, so tired, so lost.

When they get to the lab, Isilya wriggles out of Levi's arms. She slowly walks over to the desk and pulls open the largest drawer. From there, she pulls out a sleeping bag. Then she pulls a sleeping mat out from behind the desk. Levi watches her as she lays them out on the floor. She sits down on top of the makeshift bed and slowly looks up at Levi.

"What?" She asks, tilting her head to the side as she sees the look he's giving her. She reads the question in his eyes and sighs.

"I know there are a lot of bedrooms here, but..." Isilya pauses, trying to figure out how to voice her thoughts. Levi's eyes widen slightly as he realizes what's going on. He feels like an idiot and tries not to think of what she's been forced to do in some of those rooms. He thinks back on what she said earlier, about being lonely when he was gone. He knows Lillian has been busy, as well. So too often, Isilya is left alone in this building. This building that holds such terrible memories for her.

"Nevermind," Levi states, "It doesn't matter." He walks over to the door and looks over his shoulder at Isilya.

"Get some rest." He moves to walk out but pauses as Isilya speaks up.

"When will you- when will we train next?" Isilya looks at Levi as she crawls into her sleeping bag. He doesn't bother to look back at her.

"Take care of yourself. I'll be back in a few days." Levi goes to close the door behind him. Isilya's eyes widen as she notices a cut on the back of his neck.

"Are you okay?" Levi blinks at her question, pausing and turning around to look at her.

"You can barely walk and you're asking me if I'm okay?" Levi responds with a question. Isilya shrugs and waits for him to answer her. He remains silent. She sighs and sits up to reach into another drawer in the desk. She pulls out the taser flashlight and tosses it to him. He catches it and stares at it, then at her. She lays back down and rolls over, facing away from him. Levi furrows his brow as he stares at the weapon in his hand. He casts one more glance at Isilya, then slowly closes the door behind him, leaving her alone again.

* * *

As another couple of weeks have gone by and Isilya had made sure to keep better care of herself. If only because she knew that Levi would give her hell if she hadn't. They had been continuing training and Levi had finally taught her some basic attacks. Mostly, he'd focused on proper form for punches and kicks. If she ever needed to attack somebody, he showed her the best places of the body to focus her attack on and the best way to do it without hurting herself.

Isilya had been able to successfully create one-way sight portals consistently without wearing herself down. Using the small areas she could see from the escape tunnels, she'd managed to expand where she can place portals by a few streets in each direction. All without having to venture out of the building. She referred to them as her security cameras.

More recently, Isilya had been practicing placing the portals on smaller objects. She's successfully done it with a book and a spoon. She had been planning to try and create a portal that could move with a person, or an article of their clothing. Making portals on stiff, non-mobile objects had become easy. But Isilya wanted a bigger challenge. Levi had let her practice anchoring a portal to his cloak. She had gotten close to making it work, but when he put on the cloak and moved around, the portal would collapse. Or so she convinced him.

In reality, she had been able to create the portal and she left it there. She had locked her side of the portal so Levi couldn't see it on his cloak. She wanted to see more of the Underground and maybe more of Levi's life as well. But she knew if she managed to get the portal to work and she asked if she could leave it, he wouldn't let her. She had felt bad for not being honest at first, but seeing more of the Underground and being able to build the portals in new areas was worth it. She promised herself that she would tell him about it. Eventually.


	10. Memories of Murder

Isilya sits in her lab, watching five different portals. She has gotten into the habit of leaving some open all of the time. The three that show her the different escape tunnel outdoor entrances and one that shows her the view of the front door. It's still blocked from the inside thanks to Levi, but Isilya keeps an eye on it just in case. The last portal that she has open shows her Levi's view. She had created it on his cloak and it sits invisibly on his shoulder, allowing her to see the world from his perspective. However, currently, Levi's cloak is hanging up somewhere unused.

With a sigh, Isilya stands up and goes to the kitchen to get some tea. She leans against the counter as she heats up some water. While she waits, she finds her thoughts drifting to Levi. He's continued to help her, to train her, to push her to be better. He rescued her and all of the other children from a terrible future and returned them to their normal lives. Yet, he's asked for so little in return. It feels wrong.

Isilya has decided that she trust Levi. He hasn't given her a reason not to, yet. That doesn't mean that she will ever fully let her guard down around him, or anyone, ever again. That's not a part of her plan. However, she was very close when she was sick. Without Levi dropping by to break up Isilya's lab time, she hadn't bothered to pay attention to anything else. She spent that week and a half almost entirely in the lab, eating once a day or less, and she had only taken a nap when she absolutely couldn't keep her eyes open. When Levi finally came by again she had just made a large breakthrough, but she wasn't in a good condition to continue working. He took care of her by forcing her to take care of herself. She appreciated it, but vowed to never let herself get so weak and to never be so reliant on him again.

The kettle whistles, stealing Isilya's attention away from her thoughts. She pours the water into her teacup and smiles when the mixture of smells hit her nose. She grabs the cup and walks back to the lab, humming a tune to herself. It echoes through the empty hall.

Isilya opens the door of the lab and walks over to her desk, sitting down with her teacup in hand. She checks in on each of the portals. Seeing nothing new, she sighs and takes a sip of her tea. She knows that she made it the exact same way that she's seen Levi make it every time after they train, but somehow it doesn't taste the same. Isilya stares up at the portal connected to Levi's cloak. After a few seconds, the image moves. She leans forward, putting her teacup down on the desk.

The image stabilizes slightly. Isilya can see a few strands of Levi's hair on the edge of her view through the portal. He must've put his cloak on. She watches as he opens a door and walks through it, closing it behind him and moving into the street. His arm comes into view as he raises his hood over his head.

The streets are busy as Levi heads into some sort of market. People push to get around one another. Some are bartering for goods, others seem to be yelling, but Isilya can't hear them through the portal. Whatever any of them are saying, Levi ignores them and continues through the crowd. Fewer people go by as he walks through and away from the market area.

Isilya does her best to map the city in her head as Levi twists and turns through alleyways and around buildings. She's sure that he's purposely gone in at least two circles. She begins to worry that he knows she's watching him and that he's trying to confuse her. Another thought strikes her. Maybe he's trying to confuse someone else. Maybe he's being followed.

Biting her bottom lip, Isilya grabs the portal gloves and puts them on, eyes never leaving the portal that shows her Levi's whereabouts. She scouts the area through his point of view. Seeing a tall building ahead of him, she creates a small portal on the side of it. She switches her attention to the new portal, scanning the area for anyone that might be following Levi.

There aren't many people on the street and most of them are walking the opposite way. A couple of people are standing or sitting, sharing whispered words. Nobody pays attention to Levi as he walks past them. However, there are two people moving the same way as him.

Levi continues walking for awhile, then he turns left into another alleyway, quickly dashing around the building. Levi makes three more lefts so he ends up behind where he had started. One of the men turn down the same alleyway Levi had turned into. He hesitates for a moment, then continues walking forward, slower than he was before.

Isilya closes the second portal but opens up two in its place, giving herself a better view of the alleyway from both ends of it. She leans forward, watching the stranger. Her eyes flick back and forth between the portals on the buildings and the portal on Levi's shoulder. This person is obviously following Levi. And Levi seems to know it. Isilya holds her breath, watching the scene play out in front of her.

Levi turns down the alley again, silently following the stranger, hiding in shadows or behind piles of trash when needed. He creeps up behind the stranger, pulling two objects out from pockets inside his cloak. His mouth moves and the stranger turns around, startled. The stranger's mouth moves in a reply and Isilya wishes she had the ability to hear what they were saying. Levi moves his hands slightly, revealing the weapons in his possession. He smirks at the other man, who widens his eyes and shakily backs up, pulling a knife slowly from his own cloak.

Levi holds a knife, her taser, and a slowly growing smirk. Isilya quickly decides that his smirk is the most dangerous of the three. The stranger says something to Levi, raising his knife in response and attempting to act brave. Levi doesn't reply as he walks towards the man.

Isilya watches as Levi raises the taser. He presses the flashlight button twice, making the bright light strobe in the stranger's face. The man raises his arms in an attempt to block out the light. Levi uses the opportunity to rush forward, pushing his blade into the heart of the other man. He stops the strobe with one hand as he twists the blade around with the other. The man's mouth opens and pain flashes across his face. Isilya feels like she can hear his scream through the portal, although she's aware she's just imagining it. As Levi pulls the blade out, the man falls to the ground.

Through the portals she'd set up at the ends of the alleyway, Isilya can see over most of the buildings in the area. She watches as a couple of people a few streets over start heading towards Levi and the stranger. The light. Of course. There's barely any light in the Underground city. Nothing anyone has in this place would be so bright, or so flashy. That, and the scream, have alerted a few curious people. Isilya wants to scream at Levi, to tell him to get out of there. She stays frozen on her chair, eyes wide in horror.

Levi stares down at the man for a moment, then pulls out a handkerchief, wiping the blood off of his blade. He pockets it along with his weapons, glancing one last time at the body on the ground, then disappearing into the shadows of the city.

Isilya quickly closes all of the portals in that area, including the one on Levi's cloak. She leans back in her chair. Her tea sits cold and forgotten on her desk. The gloves rest on her hands, their dull silver glow consistent. Isilya blinks, pulling them off of her and tossing them next to her tea. The glow fades from them as she pushes herself away from the desk. She stares at her own hands, memories of the man she had killed are suddenly pulled out from where she'd locked them away. She reaches up and tangles her hands in her hair, clenching her eyes shut and silently begging for the memories to disappear.

* * *

Levi doesn't understand why Isilya has suddenly shut herself off from him. The last few times he's gone to train with her she's made excuses. From being sick, to dealing with 'that time of the month', to her saying that he's done enough to help her and he doesn't owe her anything. He leaves her alone after that, knowing that she's right. He's known it for a while, but for some reason he liked being with Isilya. He's tried to ignore the feeling, but knowing that she's making excuses not to train with him, to eat with him, and to generally see him at all has made him focus on those thoughts.

A lot of people in this world know him. And most of them only know him through rumors and stories. Most of them fear him. But Isilya hasn't heard those stories. She doesn't know what he's had to do to survive in this place.

Levi realizes that she's smart enough to know that he's done some terrible things. She's known that since the day they first met. But she's never brought up his past, never asked where or why he learned to do the things she saw that day. When he's with her, he feels like he's a normal person. Not a murderer, or a thief, or anything bad at all. When he's with her, even in that terrible building, he's just her trainer. Her mentor. Maybe even her friend.

When Levi realizes these things, he does what he usually does. He pushes it to the side. He goes throughout his days just like he did before he met Isilya. But that only works for so long. Eventually, he finds himself walking through the Underground city, heading for Isilya's building. He doesn't consciously realize that's where he's going until he's at one of the tunnel entrances.

* * *

Isilya sits on the floor in the corner of her lab, arms around her legs and head buried in her knees. She stares at the floor in-between her legs and lets out a small sigh. She hasn't slept in days.

Isilya picks her head up when she hears someone walking through the hall. Her eyes widen and she pushes herself off of the floor, rushing to her desk and slipping on the gloves. She forms two portals on either end of the hallway and stares at Levi through them. Images of blood and bodies fly through her head and she quickly moves her chair over to the door of the lab, pushing it under the doorknob.

Isilya watches through the portals as Levi approaches her door. His hand reaches for the knob. She holds her breath. Levi pauses, his hand in mid air. He retracts his hand and stares at the door for a moment. He turns away. Isilya watches as he seems to fight with himself. Eventually, he turns back to the door and raises his arm, knocking.

Isilya blinks, surprised. He's never bothered to do that before. Usually he just walks in. She waits, watching him as he stares at the door. After a minute, he raises his fist to knock again, then slowly puts it down. He turns back the way he came and walks to the escape tunnel.

As Isilya watches Levi walk away, she hears Charlie's voice in her head. Thank you, Mr. Levi. If Muma trusts you, then I will, too. Isilya turns to look at the green bear that sits on the corner of her desk. She chews at her bottom lip, looking back and forth between the bear and the portal that shows Levi leaving through a tunnel. She curses under her breath and grabs the cloak Levi gave her, quickly putting it on and throwing the hood over her head, moving the chair from under the doorknob. She throws open the door and runs to the tunnel, following Levi out into the street.

Levi pauses when he hears the tunnel hatch opening and closing. He doesn't bother turning around. He waits for Isilya to say anything, but they both remain silent. Levi's eyes move to the ground in front of him and he takes a breath, continuing to walk away.

"Levi." Isilya's voice is quiet, with a hint of sorrow. Levi pauses again. He realizes that although they've known one another for a few months, she hasn't said his name since the day they met. It makes him think back on the time they've spent together. He isn't sure if he's ever called her by her name. He's always called her brat, or didn't bother with a name at all. Afterall, it's always just the two of them. Who else would he be talking to?

Levi finally turns to look at Isilya. He finds himself wishing that he could hear his name coming from her lips again. She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. They stare at one another.

"Isilya." Levi responds to her. Her name flows naturally from his tongue, though he's never used it before. After a moment her face breaks into a small smile.

"That's the first time you've actually said my name." Isilya lets out a short chuckle. Levi doesn't know what to say in response. Actually, he doesn't want to say anything at all. He wants to hear her laugh again. He wants her to smile more. He wants to train her and eat with her again as she tells him how her research is going.

But then he reminds himself that she's been avoiding him. And that people will always leave him. He knew this was going to happen. He shouldn't have gotten attached. With that thought, he turns to leave again.

As Levi walks away, he feels Isilya grab his wrist. Her hand is cold. He stops and looks down, seeing that she's still wearing the metallic gloves. Their eyes meet. Isilya doesn't let go of his arm. Both of them struggle to find something to say as they stare at each other, feeling like strangers who know one another too well. Eventually, Isilya glances back at the entrance to the tunnel.

"Tea?" She asks, causing Levi's lip to move up in the smallest smile she's ever seen on any face. But it's enough.


	11. The Present And The Past

Isilya and Levi sit in the kitchen, sipping tea quietly. Neither of them can decide if it's comfortable or awkward. They continue to glance at each other and around the room. Both of them are aware that they haven't said anything to one another since they left the alleyway.

"Are we bad people?" Isilya breaks the silence. Levi continues to sip his tea as he stares at her over the rim. He raises an eyebrow as he puts the cup down.

"Why?" He questions, his face a stoic mask as usual. Isilya turns away from him, staring at the floor as she plays with her fingers.

"I killed someone." Isilya whispers. Levi blinks. He hadn't thought much about it since it had happened.

"You did," Levi confirms, "He helped kidnap you and many children." Levi watches Isilya as she chews her bottom lip.

"Does that make it okay?" She looks up to meet his eyes. Levi is surprised to find that he can't look at her. His gaze drifts to his teacup as he takes a sip. His lack of response is enough of an answer for her. They sit in silence for another minute.

"You were avoiding me," Levi states, still not looking at Isilya. She takes a breath and slowly nods.

"I've been able to form a portal on a moving object." Isilya takes another sip of her tea. Levi almost laughs at the irony. Of course, she avoids talking about how she was avoiding him.

"That's good," Levi states, allowing her to change the subject. Isilya nods in agreement. Levi furrows his brow as he watches her. He thought she'd be more excited about her success. She'd been working so hard to accomplish creating a portal that could move with an object. But now that she's done it she seems disappointed. No. She seems worried. And scared. Levi patiently waits for her to say something else. It takes a few minutes.

"I was able to form the portal... on your cloak." Isilya looks up at Levi, looking very much like a scared child admitting that they did something wrong. Levi pauses mid-sip. He stares at her. He puts his teacup on the table. He keeps staring at her. Isilya considers looking away but decides that would make things worse. She maintains the staring contest.

"When?" Levi's voice is not loud or angry, but quiet. It's definitely more terrifying that way. Isilya gulps.

"That day you let me practice a few weeks ago. I told you that I wasn't able to do it. But I lied." Isilya resists the urge to fidget in her seat. Instead, she focuses on Levi's eyes. The grey orbs stare intently at her. She feels like he's looking into her soul, reading all of her secrets and going through her thoughts.

"Is it still there?" Levi narrows his eyes slightly. His cloak hangs from his chair. Isilya shakes her head.

"I removed it a couple of days after I put it there." Levi considers Isilya's words. He'd done a lot during the days following that night. Most of it, he hadn't been wearing his cloak for, but he had it on for one of the worst things he had done. Levi finally breaks eye contact with Isilya and sighs. Isilya lets out a small breath of her own. Without his gaze on her, she feels like she can breathe, if only just slightly more than before. Another long silence stretches out between them. Levi fills up both of their cups. Isilya doesn't touch hers. She doesn't move at all.

"You saw." Levi doesn't need to say what she saw. He knows they're both sure of it. Isilya takes a moment, then nods.

"I saw."

"You think I'm a bad person. That's why you asked." Levi stares into the distance over Isilya's shoulder.

"If you're a bad person, then I am, too." Levi moves his gaze to Isilya as she says that. He tries to be comforting but firm at the same time as he responds.

"The man you killed was bad. You're not." Isilya considers Levi's words for a while. Neither of them touches their tea as they sit there, staring into space and thinking of the things they've done.

"Was the man that you killed bad?" Levi glances up at Isilya when she speaks.

"Do you really want to know?" Levi asks. Isilya thinks for a moment, then looks up at him. When her eyes meet his own, he looks away. He takes a moment, focusing on a random spot across the room.

"He called himself a doctor. He cheated his patients. The only thing he ever gave them was false hope as he stole their money. He had screwed over one too many people, so some of them paid me a visit and paid me money." As Levi talks, Isilya watches him, seeing the conflict in his eyes.

"He had a family. A wife. She's pregnant. Maybe six months." Levi 's voice gets quieter as he reveals this. Isilya sits frozen.

"I know that I'm a monster-" Levi begins, but is quickly cut off by Isilya.

"No. Neither of us is a monster. We just- we did what we had to do to survive." Isilya nods to herself as she speaks, looking like she's trying to convince herself as well as him. Levi's eyes land on her again.

"Isilya." She looks up at Levi when he says her name, pain etched into her face. With a sigh, Levi gathers up all of his courage. If she already knows this, she might as well know everything.

Levi decides that he wants Isilya to trust him. He wants to continue training her, spending time with her, and just being with her. And mostly, he wants her to accept him. All of him. Including his past. If she knows all of it and still wants him around, then he'll know that. If she knows and never wants to see him again, then so be it. In the end, it's her choice, and at least he'll truly know what she thinks. He realizes that this is against everything he's grown to believe. But at the moment, he couldn't care less.

"That's not the only thing I've done to survive."

That night, Levi tells Isilya everything about his past. He tells her about his mom and the situation she was in, and how that's the reason he helped Isilya and the others. He tells her about the man who raised him after his mom died and about the things he learned from that man before he left. He tells her about the gangs in the Underground. The assassinations he's been contracted to do. The things he's been paid to steal. He tells her every terrible thing he's ever been involved with.

In return, Isilya tells him about her past. She tells him about how her mother was a drug addict and her father was a doctor who eventually got hooked on the same drugs as his wife. She explains that her younger sister ate something off of the counter at home, not knowing it was bad. She shocks him when she says that her older brother died in a car wreck on the way to pick her up so they could drive to the hospital. She cries when she tells him that her father wanted her to be a doctor like him. But she couldn't do anything to help her siblings and neither could any actual doctors.

Isilya and Levi spend the entire night talking about their pasts. They share stories full of pain, sadness, laughter, and heartbreak. At some point, early in the morning, they both fall asleep in their chairs at the kitchen table.

* * *

Isilya stares at Levi disapprovingly. He sits unmoving on one of the beds, staring at the wall across the room. Isilya shakes her head and looks back to the work in front of her.

"You tell me the truth about your life and then have me patching you up two weeks after that." Isilya twists her lip as she focuses. Levi grunts in response. Isilya rolls her eyes as she continues to stitch the cut on his arm. He watches her as she works, doing his best not to move.

"That's what you get for telling me your father was a doctor." Isilya lets out a breathy laugh as she tries to concentrate. She doesn't say anything else as she finishes Levi's stitches. She cleans up the medical supplies Levi had brought with him and tries to hand it back to him. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Is that your way of telling me you're expecting me to do this for you again?" Isilya puts down the supplies and crosses her arms, staring down at Levi. He hides a smirk and shrugs in response. She glares at him. She turns away and picks up the medical supplies, choosing a random drawer in a dresser to put it in for later use. She decides that this room will be her hospital. It's almost right in the middle of her lab and the kitchen.

Isilya realizes Levi's shrug means that he plans to be in situations where he'll be hurt again. She bites her lip. Of course, he'll be in situations where he'll get hurt. The things he's had to do to survive down here and will continue doing to make a living will always be dangerous. She can't expect him to stop. At least not without some backup plan. And she doesn't have a good back up plan. Levi watches her from his spot on the bed.

"You're worried." He states. Isilya looks up at him as she closes the medical drawer. She nods. Levi glances towards the door of the room and then back at Isilya. He looks like he's trying to decide something. Eventually, he lets out a short sigh.

"Come with me." Levi throws his cloak on and walks out into the hallway. Isilya widens her eyes and scrambles to catch up with him, grabbing her own cloak from the lab as they pass it. Levi leads her out through one of the tunnels. She puts her hood over her head as she steps out into the alleyway.

Isilya struggles to keep up with Levi as he leads her through the streets of the Underground city. It's not that he's too fast. She could easily match his pace. But she continues to be distracted by the world around her. At this point, she's seen a lot of it through her portals, but seeing it in person is entirely different. Levi notices her amazement and slows down. After a while, he gets bored and grabs Isilya's arm to get her attention. She tilts her head at him. He nods towards a side street and leads her down it.

As they walk turn down another side street, Levi realizes that he's still holding Isilya's arm. He lets go, causing Isilya to look up at him. He ignores her curious stare and continues moving forward. After another few minutes, he stops in front of a relatively clean building. Isilya stares at it. She turns to him with a smirk on her face.

"This is where you live, isn't it?" Levi clicks his tongue and ignores Isilya, walking up to the front door and opening it. He waits for Isilya to enter first, then shuts the door after he enters. He peeks out to make sure nobody is paying them too much attention.

Isilya wanders through the rooms of the house. A small smile sits on her face. Levi hangs up his cloak by the front door and watches her for a short while.

"What's the smile for?" He leans against the wall of the small kitchen. Isilya pauses her inspection of the room and looks up at him.

"It's so clean. This is definitely your house." Isilya's smile widens as she runs her hand along a table, staring at her fingers afterward. Levi decides to take her words as a compliment.

"This isn't why I brought you here." Levi turns and leaves the room. Isilya takes her time as she follows him. When she makes it to where he is, he's already pried up a few floorboards and has them set aside. Isilya furrows her brows as she stares down into the hidden space. Levi pulls out a strange looking metal contraption and a collection of straps. She watches as he puts on the straps and then attaches the metal parts to said straps.

"What does it do?" Isilya circles Levi, staring at every part of the device he equipped. Two long, cylindrical, metal, containers of some sort are hanging from the straps around his hips and thighs. They're attached to two larger metal containers that have slots cut into them. A smaller metal contraption is attached to his back, around his waist. Two conical pieces stick out from a smaller, barrel-shaped piece. In Levi's hands, he holds two hilts of some sort with a trigger on each one. Each hilt has a wire of some sort attached to them. The other ends of the wires attach to the waist contraption. Levi bends down and grabs a few long blades from the hole in the floor. He attaches them to the hilts and holds them out for Isilya to see.

"You have two swords, now. That's...cool? Still, what does the rest of it do?" Isilya continues to circle Levi, looking at the strange gear from every angle she can. Levi turns to face her as she circles him again. She pauses and looks at him.

"I'll show you."


	12. Flying And Falling

Isilya lets out a gleeful laugh as Levi opens the door to his house for her again. They both head inside. Levi takes off his cloak and hangs it up, revealing the metal contraption and straps attached to him. He pries open the floorboards again as Isilya sits down on the floor next to him.

"That was amazing!" Isilya smiles at Levi, then closes her eyes and leans back against the wall as she thinks about what she just saw. Levi smirks to himself as he pulls out another set of the gear from the floor.

"You were practically flying. You can fly. That's awesome! What do you call that thing?" Isilya's voice gets higher as she talks, excitement getting the best of her. She opens her eyes to look at Levi when she questions him. He gestures to the pile on the floor.

"This is Omni-Directional Mobility gear. And that one is for you." Levi states, watching for Isilya's reaction. She stares at the ODM gear in front of her, then at the gear Levi wears. Her gaze flies back and forth a few times and then she looks up at him in disbelief.

"I can fly?" Isilya questions, eyes wide. Levi offers her a hand. She grabs it, pulling herself up.

"You can fly," Levi smirks. Isilya lets out a noise of excitement and throws her arms around Levi.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you." Isilya squeezes Levi tight as he stands there, frozen. After a moment, Isilya pauses, realizing what she's done.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." Isilya starts to back away, but Levi's arms lightly wrap around her in return. She stops moving, surprises evident on her face. She doesn't know how to react.

Levi takes her stillness as a bad sign and pulls away. Isilya quickly hugs him tighter, laying her head on his shoulder, her nose almost touching his neck. Levi readjusts his arms, holding onto Isilya as if she'll disappear. She lets out a sigh of contentment, her breath tickling Levi's neck. They stay like that for a short while. Neither of them wants to say anything, afraid that they'll ruin the moment if they speak. But a thought yells for attention in Isilya's brain.

"Levi?" Isilya whispers against his neck. Levi lets out a grunt in response. Isilya almost laughs at him, but quickly composes herself.

"Why?" Isilya asks, still not moving from their embrace. Levi stays silent for a moment. Then he lets out a sigh.

"You can't create portals that you can travel through yet. If you end up in a situation where somebody is chasing you then you need to get away fast." Levi explains quietly. Isilya hears his unspoken words. _So you don't get hurt_. She smiles to herself and nuzzles his neck. Levi subconsciously tilts his head to be closer to hers.

Isilya is surprised to find that she doesn't want the moment to end. She's become attached to Levi. She's realized it before but never wanted to admit to it. But here, in his arms, Isilya can't deny it anymore. He's done so much to help her. And he continues to help her even though he tells her that he's a bad person. She knows that he's done bad things but she can't believe that he's a bad person. Not really. Not while he's holding her. Not while he does anything he can to protect her. Not as long as he goes out of his way to make her tea the way she likes it, even though it's different from his own preference. Not as long as he comes to her with scrapes and cuts, trusting her to help him.

"You stole these, didn't you?" Isilya sighs as Levi pulls away from her. He rarely shows any affection, so she almost regrets asking. She ruined the moment. But she has to know. Levi doesn't look at her as he starts taking off his ODM gear.

"It doesn't matter," Levi says. He struggles with the strap around his waist and Isilya reaches out to help him.

"Levi-" Isilya starts.

"It doesn't," Levi states, stepping back away from Isilya's attempt to help him, "What matters is that you'll be safe." He finishes taking off the gear, placing it back into the hole. Isilya watches him silently. He puts her ODM gear back under the floor as well.

"There's a third set. Just in case." Levi puts the floorboards back with a practiced speed. "We'll start practice in two days."

* * *

Isilya sits in an alleyway, facing the corner, her cloak allowing her to blend in with the shadows and the trash. She frantically opens and closes portals. She spends a few seconds looking through one. When she doesn't find what she's looking for she closes it and opens another. She makes sure to keep the portals small and hidden between her body and the corner.

"Come on. Please." She mutters to herself as she searches the city. She and Levi had agreed on three meeting spots in case the job went wrong. It had gone very wrong, and Isilya had just left the third spot. She'd searched through his house, her own building, and the tavern they occasionally met at as a halfway point between their two bases. He hadn't been in any of those places.

"Where are you?" Isilya curses as she continues to look. She tries her best to believe that what happened wasn't her fault. Logically, she knows that there was nothing she could do. That doesn't stop her from going over every detail of the plan and comparing it to what actually happened, looking for anything she could've done differently. The image of Levi getting thrown out of the window of a building repeats in her mind as she searches the city.

For the past month, Isilya has been helping Levi with some of his smaller jobs. She uses it as a way to practice with her ODM gear and her portals. She's been able to create portals that sound can travel through, but they are all very quiet. She was disappointed at first, but it works perfectly for the type of jobs that she and Levi do together, like this one. The job was a small theft and it was only to get something back that had already been stolen. They were being paid well for it and it wasn't supposed to be dangerous at all.

Usually, Isilya stays in her base or finds a secluded spot a few streets down from their target if they feel a second person may become necessary. She sets up a few small portals to look through and a small one on Levi's cloak. That way, she can talk to him to keep him informed on the things he can't see. She can tell him if somebody is coming towards him or tell him the best route to use to escape if necessary. In the last few weeks, it has proven to be a great strategy. However, today things didn't go as planned. And Isilya can't locate Levi because he lost his cloak when things started going wrong.

Isilya catches a dark figure flying through the sky as she opens a new portal. She pauses, squinting at it. It almost looks like a bird in the distance. She looks around the area that she can see through the portal and realizes where it is. She closes that portal and opens one closer to the flying object. Her breath catches in her throat as she watches Levi shoot out a hook from his ODM gear. It attaches to the wall of the cavern and he uses it to swing himself into the air again. He uses his momentum to rise through the air and releases his hook, shooting the same one out again as soon as he can. His gear must be damaged.

Isilya closes the portal and opens a smaller one that allows her to see the same area, attaching it to the inside of her cloak. She shoots her own hooks into the air, watching as they attach to the sides of two buildings. Within seconds, she's flying. She heads towards the part of town where Levi is. She isn't sure why he's so far away from where the target was, or what he's running from.

As Isilya flies above the city, she occasionally moves her arm so she can peek inside of her cloak. She watches as Levi's silhouette gets further and further away from the portal she had made. With a huff, she lands on the roof of a building and closes the portal, opening another one closer to Levi. She watches him fly by it, then launches herself into the air again.

Within minutes, Isilya can see him. She lets out a sigh of relief and wants to fly to him, but pauses to think of what she really needs to do. With a nod to herself, Isilya trails him, keeping towards the wall of the cavern and making as little noise as possible. She watches the streets below and behind Levi. He's running from something. She needs to figure out what so she can help him.

Many buildings and streets pass under Isilya before she finally sees what's going on. She flies towards the roof of a building ahead of her. As she lands, she tucks into herself and rolls, being as quiet as she can. She looks down at the street, seeing five men running after Levi, pointing and shouting at him. Isilya turns to look at Levi in the distance. The men are able to keep up with him fairly well because of his broken gear.

Isilya thinks to herself and comes up with a plan. She wishes she could create portals on moving objects from far away. It would make things easier if she could talk to Levi about what's going on. However, she's only been able to make those type of portals on things she can touch. Isilya is about to fly into the air again to put her plan in motion when she notices something else going on with Levi's gear. She opens a portal on the cavern wall near him and her eyes widen at what she sees.

He's low on gas. The way he's swinging is causing him to use too much. There's no way he will be able to keep running. Judging by the way he keeps looking back at his pursuers, he knows it, too. Isilya is confident in Levi's abilities, but taking on five guys by himself isn't something she's about to let him do.

Isilya quickly changes her plan, following and watching as the men get closer and closer to Levi. She makes sure to stay a few streets back from them. Then, once they're almost underneath Levi, their attention solely focused on catching him, Isilya rushes forwards. She uses a small amount of gas and a lot of her momentum to kick two of them in the head as she swings by them. They fall to the ground, unconscious. The other three turn back to see what happened. One of them yells and points at Isilya, cursing her out. The other two follow the gaze of the first, glaring at Isilya.

While one of the men runs to check on his friends, Levi appears. He shoots a hook into a building behind the men, allowing himself to land smoothly on the ground next to it. He doesn't slow down at all. He prepares his blades, rushing in-between the two yelling at Isilya, slashing at the back of both of their knees. They fall to the ground, screaming. They clutch at their legs. Levi walks towards the last man as he turns around.

Isilya doesn't bother watching. She knows he can handle himself. Instead, she lands and walks up to the two men Levi had cut. One of them pulls out a knife, attempting a slash at her. Isilya easily dodges it. She kicks his chest and he falls backward. She steps on his wrist, pressing down until he lets go of the knife. Using her other leg, she kicks it away from them. She puts her foot back on his chest.

The second man begins to beg, a plea dying on his lips as Isilya turns her head to stare at him from under her hood. Her glare rivals Levi's. She internally cheers to herself, glad that imitating Levi when she gets bored has paid off. With a small smirk, Isilya turns back to stare at the man under her foot.

From behind her, Isilya hears a large crash as Levi throws the other man into a window. She patiently waits. After a moment, Levi appears at her side. She looks up at him. She isn't surprised to find some blood on his cheek, but she is disappointed. How had they gotten into this mess from such an easy job? Isilya pushes the thought to the side. She reaches over to Levi and pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping the blood away and handing it to him. Levi accepts it and puts it back in his pocket. When he looks back up, he reads a question in her eyes. He lets out a breath and nods.

Isilya steps away from the men on the ground. She shoots Levi a look and launches her hooks into the side of a building, landing on top of it. She scans the area to see if anyone else has been following them. Below her, Levi finishes off the two men whose legs he had cut and the two men Isilya had left unconscious. Once he's finished, he lets out a low whistle. Isilya pokes her head over the edge of the roof, staring down at him. He nods back toward the direction she came from. She furrows her brows, but nods, taking off into the air to head back to Levi's house.


	13. Old And New Acquaintances

It doesn't take long for Isilya to get to Levi's. She's learned to move faster while using less gas, thanks to training on the OMD gear with Levi. Once she gets to his place, she heads inside, closing the door and automatically opening multiple portals around the area to make sure that nobody has followed her. Once she feels sure that she's safe, she closes the portals. She leaves her ODM gear on, just in case.

While Isilya waits for Levi, she starts to prepare a soup and some tea. She's been able to make the tea just how he likes it after many trials and errors. And with how often they drink tea together after training, Isilya has started to like the way he prepares it. She focuses on the soup while she waits for him to get home. She knows that going over the plan in her head again and again won't help at all. She won't be able to figure out anything else until Levi gives her more information.

Levi shows up just as Isilya decides to call the soup done. She places two bowls and two tea cups on his kitchen table. Now that she knows he's alive, she takes off her ODM gear and hides it in the floor. Levi does the same after Isilya checks the area with her portals again. Once the floorboards are back in place they sit down at the table.

Isilya waits until they've both had a fair amount of soup before speaking up. She refills both of their cups as she looks up at Levi.

"What happened?" She asks, sitting down again. Levi picks up his cup and takes a sip, holding it from the top instead of the side. He puts it down and sighs.

"Those five men were members of a gang. Their leader is a piece of shit who happens to be holding a grudge against me." Levi continues to eat his soup once he finishes talking. Isilya pauses with her spoon halfway to her mouth. She was hoping for more information than that but isn't all that surprised at Levi's short response.

"What were they doing at our target's house?" Isilya continues eating as Levi looks up to her. He eats a few more spoonfuls of soup, then sets his spoon down.

"Our target had a small business. He acquires things that don't belong to him and sells them off. The gang was there to make a few purchases. When they saw me, their priorities switched." Levi goes back to eating, feeling as if he has explained enough. Isilya watches him for a moment. She realizes she won't get much more of a backstory from him.

"Okay. So did you get the item?" Isilya questions. Levi reaches into his pocket and pulls out a necklace, placing it on the table between them. Isilya stares down at it. She admires the orange stone at the center of the piece and picks it up to get a better look at it.

"It's beautiful." She murmurs to herself. Levi raises an eyebrow as he watches her, but doesn't say anything in response. Once they both finish eating, he takes the necklace and puts it back in his pocket. Isilya stands up and takes all of the dishes to start washing them. Levi stands up and walks over to lean against the counter next to her. He stares across the room as he talks.

"I don't want you to help with these jobs anymore." Levi states. Isilya pauses with a bowl and a sponge in her hand. She puts them down in the washbasin and turns to face Levi, who only turns his head to stare at her with a bored expression. She can see right through it. She knows that he's just trying to protect her and keep her from having to engage in any more conflict. She also knows that he's worried about her getting hurt.

"Levi. Don't do this." Isilya puts a hand on her hip, shifting her weight to one side. Levi raises an eyebrow. Isilya raises both of hers in response. They're both silent, neither of them backing down. They stare into one another's eyes, waiting, challenging each other to say anything. Eventually, Levi turns back to stare at the wall again.

"You could get hurt," Levi says it without any emotion in his voice. Isilya almost rolls her eyes.

"Every other job we've done together has gone well. I haven't gotten hurt during any of those jobs and I didn't get hurt this time. There's no good reason for us to stop working together." Isilya states the facts calmly, hoping that will get through to Levi. He glances at her, pushing off of the counter to leave the room.

"You're not helping anymore." Levi reiterates without bothering to look at Isilya. Isilya barely hears what he says. She's too focused on how stiff he is as he walks away. She narrows her eyes and crosses her arms.

"Levi. You hypocrite!" Isilya snaps at him. Levi freezes in the doorway and his shoulders slump as the tension leaves his body. He turns to Isilya, aware that he's been caught. He lets out a sigh as she walks over to him.

"Telling me that I can't do shit because I _might_ get hurt while you're actually hurt and planning to keep doing shit like this, anyways," Isilya grumbles as she lifts up Levi's pant leg. There's a collection of cuts around his knee. Some of them are fairly deep. Isilya puts her hand on Levi's calf, making him bend his leg and then straighten it out again. Levi does his best to hide his expression as he grimaces, but Isilya catches it. With a glare, she heads into the other room to grab supplies, demanding that Levi sit down at the table and wait for her.

Isilya makes quick work of cleaning Levi's wounds. Once she's finished, she goes back to the washbasin to finish cleaning the dishes. They're both silent as they think about the day they had. Levi gets up and goes to lean against the counter again. Isilya watches his leg carefully as he walks.

"I don't really understand what happened in between you getting thrown out of that guy's window, losing your cloak, and you flying across the city with broken gear." Isilya watches Levi, looking to see how he reacts. He keeps staring at the wall.

"We could've taken them together." Isilya sets the last of the dishes on the drying rack, turning to face Levi. He remains silent for another minute, then turns to face Isilya.

"People from that gang are all well-trained fighters. You were able to take two down because they were distracted by me. You had the element of surprise. It would've been different in that tiny alleyway on the side of our target's house." Levi explains. Isilya simply crosses her arms, not accepting his words as a proper excuse. Levi sighs and looks away.

"I knew you would jump in to help. And you could've gotten hurt. I wanted to get them as far away from you as possible." Levi doesn't look at Isilya even once as he says this. It's as if he's ashamed to be admitting it. But his face shows nothing but his regular cold expression as he speaks and stares into the distance. Isilya narrows her eyes at him.

"What you're saying is that you put yourself in danger so you could leave me out of it," Isilya states, "Never do that again." She throws her hands into the air. "You were worried about me but then you go and make me worry about you. Idiot."

"Brat," Levi responds with an insult of his own automatically. Isilya stares at Levi. Then, she bursts out laughing. Levi's mouth twitches up at one corner as he watches her. She shakes her head at his response and leans closer to him. Levi narrows his eyes and quickly steps away from her.

"You're filthy." Levi sneers at Isilya. Her smile falls from her face.

"So are you!" She points at Levi's dirty clothes. He clicks his tongue and walks out of the room. He calls out to her from over his shoulder.

"Go clean up. I'm going to go get our payment for the item."

* * *

Isilya had gone back to the shop that night and found Levi's cloak. It had been torn in a few places and stained with blood. She hadn't bothered to ask if it was Levi's or someone else's. Instead, she cleaned it and sewed it back up for him, never mentioning it to him. She quietly left it hanging inside by his front door the next day. He never said anything about it.

Levi and Isilya had eventually come to a compromise about the jobs they did together. It only took two weeks. The agreement was that Isilya only worked with Levi on certain jobs. She would do surveillance when Levi felt like he needed more eyes, on the condition that she would stay at his house or her base. She would watch through portals placed throughout the city and report what she saw to Levi through a small portal on his cloak. They would still train together in combat and in ODM skills, but Levi had planned to make sure she would never have to use those skills in a real fight.

Isilya had been frustrated for a while, wishing that she could be out in the city helping him. Every time he had come to her with a new injury had made her want to scream at him. Instead, she would patiently patch him up and spend more time in the Lab. She poured her worry into research.

After a while, she'd been able to create small portals that things could be physically sent through. She started by sending a spoon from one side of her desk to the other. Then she pushed an apple through from the kitchen to the lab. Next, she managed to get a book from one side of the building to another. She continued to practice making bigger portals that could be further away from one another.

* * *

Isilya jumps up and down in excitement. In front of her is a portal just big enough for her to crawl through. Isilya grabs one of her pencils and tosses it through the portal. It lands on the floor of Levi's kitchen. Isilya continues her celebration for a moment, smiling wide, then she composes herself. She crouches down in front of the portal. Slowly, she reaches through it, grabbing the pencil and bringing it back into her lab. She stares at it. Then she nods to herself. She puts the pencil back on her desk. She throws her cloak on and flips the hood over her head out of habit. She gets down to the same level as the portal, carefully sticking her head through it.

Isilya scans the room with her eyes and listens for any noise in the building. When she's sure that Levi is either asleep or not home at all, she crawls through the portal. Once she's through it, she stands up and brushes off her pants. She looks behind her. She can't see through the portal on this side. She crouches down again and runs her hand over the wall of Levi's kitchen. Her hand pokes through the wall after a moment, disappearing back into her lab. Isilya smiles at her success and stands up again, leaving the portal open.

The mechanical gloves have become a sort of second skin to Isilya. She almost constantly has them on, so she's gotten used to doing everyday things with them. She walks around Levi's kitchen, preparing tea for herself. She thinks about how Levi. He's been busy with some jobs lately and Isilya has been so focused on her portals again that they haven't seen one another for a few weeks. She thinks about how he will react when he walks into the kitchen and Isilya is there. She knows that he can pick locks, but he hasn't taught Isilya that skill. As far as Levi knows, there's no way she should be able to get into his house when he's not there to let her in. She's sure he'll be surprised, and maybe a little angry at first, but once he realizes how she's done it he'll forgive her.

Isilya hums to herself as she moves around the kitchen, grabbing two teacups and putting them on the table. The kettle squeals for attention at the same moment Isilya hears footsteps. She pulls the kettle off of the fire and places it on the table. Suddenly, she's pinned against the wall, a knife pointed at her throat.

"Who are you?" The man growls at Isilya. She tilts her head up to stare at him. His light hair and wide eyes make him look so young. If he wasn't threatening her at the moment, she would almost say he looked like a friendly person. The thought confuses her. She furrows her brows.

"Are you trying to be scary?" Isilya questions. The man glares at her, offended. He shakes his head and pushes her further against the wall.

"Answer the question." The stranger demands. Isilya barely hears him. She is aware of the fact that there is a blade almost touching her skin, but she can't find it in her to be afraid of him.

"I've met scary. You don't have his eyes. So who are you?" Isilya questions him, trying to figure it out. The man stares down at her, obviously confused but attempting to keep up his threatening act.

"Stop messing with me. I asked you first." The man pulls Isilya towards him and then slams her into the wall again. She flinches and reminds herself not to reach up to feel her head. Any movement on her part could end badly.

"What are you?" The man's voice is suddenly quieter and his eyes grow wider. Isilya widens her own eyes as well. Her hood. It had fallen down when he slammed her into the wall.

"What is that?!" The man pushes his knife against Isilya's throat, resting it against her skin. She can barely feel it, but the message is clear. She takes in a breath and meets the gaze of the stranger. She should be trying to figure out how to get out of this situation but she can't stop thinking about something. He reminds her of someone. Her eyes widen when she realizes what it is. It's her brother. He reminds her of her kind hearted, hard-working, friendly brother. As soon as she realizes this, she decides she doesn't want to have to fight him. But the cold blade against her skin is making her somewhat uncomfortable.

"Listen. I'm trying really hard to be nice. But if that knife moves even a hair further into my neck-"

"Then I will tear you apart," Levi states as he steps into the room. Isiya looks sideways at Levi. She's never seen him look that terrifying before. She feels the man in front of her tense up. She glances at him to see that he's frozen, staring at Levi. He looks at the shorter man with an even mix of fear and admiration in his eyes.

Levi grows impatient after only a second. He dashes over to the man and grabs him by the shoulder, throwing him across the room before he can even blink. He moves to advance on the man once more, but Isilya grabs his arm, holding him back.

"You know each other already, don't you? Care to explain?" Isilya asks, watching as Levi continues to glare at the man on the floor. She slowly lets go of Levi. He remains tense but doesn't move. Isilya quietly pours water from the kettle into Levi's teacup, walking over and handing it to him. He accepts is and continues glaring at the man who lays frozen on the floor. Isilya pulls out another teacup from Levi's cabinet and pours two more cups of tea. She sits down at the table, gesturing for the two men to join her.


	14. Trouble

It had taken a while, but Furlan eventually calmed down after Isilya and Levi told him everything. Learning that an entirely separate world exists can be a bit of shock. Especially when it sounds amazing compared to life in the Underground and there's no way to currently get to it.

Isilya showed Levi and Furlan the portal she had created from her lab into Levi's kitchen. Levi had stuck his head through it and calmly congratulated Isilya on her progress. Furlan, on the other hand, had crawled through the portal and back, excitedly shooting a dozen questions at Isilya all at once.

Levi had assured Isilya that she could trust Furlan, and assured Furlan that he could trust Isilya. They spent a short while exchanging stories of how they'd met Levi. But neither of them went into very much detail. Instead, Furlan spent most of the conversation asking Isilya about her world and how difficult it would be to build an airplane. After the initial awkwardness went away, the two of them became quick friends. Isilya and Furlan seemed to enjoy the same type of jokes and puns. Their humor and generally positive outlooks matched well, much to Levi's dismay.

That night, Isilya and Furlan stayed up for hours, sharing their worst jokes and talking about how amazing it is to fly with the ODM gear. At one point, before Levi had left out of boredom and annoyance, they had made a bet to see who would be faster and more flexible while flying while also using less gas. Levi had quickly shut that down. They didn't need to be wasting resources like that.

Shortly after that night, Isilya began helping Furlan with jobs. She met his gang, though she and Levi had decided not to tell them the truth about where Isilya came from or her research with the portals. As far as Furlan's gang knows, she's just a friend of his and Levi's, who can make amazing soups with simple ingredients. They seem to look at her as the guardian of Levi's house. She's often there when everyone else is working on a job. Unbeknownst to them, that's where Isilya sits with her portals, whispering into Levi's and Furlan's ears, watching over all of them as she also watches over a pot of soup on the fire.

* * *

"What's in your hair?" Levi questions, staring at Isilya as she walks into his house through a portal. There's some sort of green slime on her head and shoulders. Her glare almost causes Levi to look away. Almost. Furlan walks into Levi's kitchen behind Isilya. A large grin is on his face. Isilya closes the portal and starts walking towards the bathroom.

"You don't want to know," Isilya growls as she walks away. Levi turns his gaze onto Furlan with a glare and a question in his eyes. Furlan sheepishly laughs.

"She lost a bet." Furlan shrugs and plops down at the kitchen table. Levi doesn't bother asking for a real explanation. Besides being disgusting, Isilya didn't seem to be hurt in any way. If she had been, she would tell him, so Levi turns back to the kitchen counter, mixing together ingredients for dinner.

In the time that they've been working together, Isilya and Furlan had become almost inseparable. They would often be joking around, placing bets, pranking one another, and getting into all sorts of other mischiefs. At least both of them are able to take their jobs seriously. They've been able to draw distinct lines between when they should be serious and when they are able to relax and joke around. At first, Levi had found it ridiculous and annoying. And while it's still annoying, now he is able to enjoy hearing about some of their adventures. Sometimes. Other times, he just gets worried.

Worried that somebody will see Isilya's hair because she refuses to cut it. Worried that somebody else will try to kidnap her while she's running around the city. Worried that she could get hurt. Levi trusts Furlan, but that doesn't stop him from worrying.

Levi is also worried that she'll get mad at him because he hasn't shown her around the city much. He would always try to keep her in her base or his house, where she'd be safe. But she didn't want to stay there. She wanted to be free, to run around the city that she would watch through her portals, to have fun with a friend. Levi hadn't given her that. He didn't know how. He worried that Isilya would be mad at him for not supplying that as Furlan had. He worried that she would leave him.

These thoughts leave Levi's head as Isilya walks back into the room, now clean. She groans and leans against Levi's back, her forehead against his shoulder. He glances back at her and continues preparing the meal in front of him.

"Bad day?" Levi asks, causing Furlan to chuckle as Isilya turns her head to glare at him. Isilya doesn't answer Levi. Instead, she continues staring at Furlan.

"I blame you." She spits out. Furlan acts surprised, bringing his hand to his chest as if he's hurt.

"It was your idea!" Furlan reminds her.

"You should've talked me out of it," Isilya mumbles, turning to bury her face in Levi's shoulder again. Furlan drops his offended act and leans over the table, laughing heartily. Levi hides the smirk on his face and focuses on serving up dinner.

* * *

Isilya throws herself out of the tavern, shooting the hooks of her ODM gear into the air and flying away. Levi follows right behind her. A moment later, Furlan follows them. Once they're a safe distance away, they all land on a rooftop and catch their breaths.

"So," Furlan starts, gaze moving between his two friends, "Why did I have to punch that guy?" He questions, watching as Levi glances at Isilya.

"He deserved it." Levi offers a small explanation. Furlan waits for more words, but they never come. Levi walks over to Isilya, placing his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes widen and she backs away from his reach, nearly falling over in her attempt to get some space. She's shaking as she stares at the ground in front of her. Furlan furrows his brows as he watches, unsure of what to do or say. Levi slowly lowers his hand. He doesn't move towards Isilya, but he crouches down so he's in her line of sight.

"Isilya-" Levi begins.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." Isilya interrupts him, still avoiding his gaze. Levi shakes his head, making sure to move slow as he stands back up. Isilya stares at his feet. They move closer to her one step at a time. When he's in front of her, she moves her gaze to his face.

"Sorry." Isilya's voice is barely a whisper as her eyes begin to water. Levi opens his arms but makes no other move.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Levi responds. That's all Isilya needs to hear. She throws herself into his embrace, tears freely falling onto her cheeks, rolling down onto Levi's cloak.

Furlan stares at them, confused, but he remains silent. They'll explain it to him later if they feel like. For now, he does his best to stay quiet as he creeps to the side of the roof, glancing back once more before jumping off of the building and shooting a hook into the side of another, heading back to Levi's house.

Levi and Isilya stay there for a while. He doesn't say anything as he holds her, not sure of what else he can do. Isilya nuzzles into his shoulder and stays there until her tears stop. Still, Levi leaves his arms around her, waiting for her to decide what she needs.

Isilya lets out a small sigh, then shifts her head up a small amount, planting a kiss against Levi's jaw. He stays frozen.

"What... what was that?" Levi questions, staring down at Isilya. She lays her head back on his shoulder, hiding her face in his neck.

"It's called affection," Isilya explains with a small smile. Levi furrows his brows and twists his lip as he listens to her speak.

"Tsk, how gross," Levi whispers, "Do it again." This causes Isilya to giggle, which almost makes Levi smile. She moves her head slightly and presses another kiss onto his shoulder. Levi takes in a breath and Isilya lifts her head from his shoulder. He exhales as she kisses his cheek.

Isilya lays her head down again. The two of them stand there, arms around one another, staring out over the city. Eventually, they untangle themselves and head back to Levi's house, small smiles on both of their faces.

That night, Isilya tells Furlan the full story about how she and Levi had met. Furlan listens intently, offering reassuring smiles when needed. Afterward, Levi explains why he had requested for Furlan to punch a seemingly random man as he flew out after Isilya. The man had said some vulgar things and tried to grab Isilya's ass. Isilya adds that the way he had spoken to her reminded her of some of the men who paid Zak for her time and her body.

From that moment on, Furlan vowed to himself to be more careful with Isilya when they were out and about. He wouldn't treat her any different. She would still be like a sister to him, but he would be sure to pay more attention to the people around them. His mind replays the image of Isilya backing away from Levi so fast, so scared, even though he's the one person that she trusts the most. He vows to himself the same thing he's sure that Levi has vowed to himself. Isilya. Kind, daring, intelligent Isilya. She must be protected.

* * *

Isilya steps through the portal into Levi's house. Furlan greets her with a wave and Levi barely looks up from cleaning his ODM gear. She smiles at them both.

"Hey, Furlan, what do you say we-" Isilya starts but is cut off by something hitting the front door. The three of them look at one another, then they all pull out knives. Furlan goes to the door, placing his hand on the knob. Isilya moves to stand on the other side, where she'll be hidden when the door opens. Levi nods at them both.

Furlan opens the door and they all stare at a young girl with pigtails as she falls into the living room, getting dirt from her clothes onto the floor. Levi glares down at her.

"It's just a kid," Isilya states. They all lower their guard.

"I'm not... a kid." The girl growls. She stays in her hunched over position. Isilya observes her carefully, wondering if she's hurt. She does seem weak, but most children in the Underground are.

"Is that so?" Levi questions, "I won't feel bad for kicking you out then." Isilya glares at Levi as he says this. He pointedly ignores her, focusing on the dirty girl on the floor. "I'll let the fact that you dirtied the floor slide. Get out now." The girl shifts, but doesn't make any move to get up.

"You can't even move?" Furlan stares down at the girl, crossing his arms in equal parts amusement and annoyance. Isilya glares at him, too.

"Of course I can! Don't look down on me." The girl pushes herself up with one arm. It's obviously a struggle for her, but she manages. As she moves, a small bundle of cloth is revealed. She holds it close to her chest. Isilya tilts her head to get a better look at it. It's a bird. There's something wrong with its wing. Isilya opens her mouth to speak, but a shout from outside draws her attention away from the small creature.

"Over here!" a voice shouts. The girl's eyes widen and she tries to get up faster. Instead, she falls against the open front door. They all stare down at her. Levi clicks his tongue.

"Brat, you're being chased?" Levi growls. Isilya peers out the door, looking for the girl's pursuers.

"What should we do?" Furlan asks, looking to Levi for answers. Isilya continues looking outside. She watches as three men walk by the stairs leading up to Levi's house.

"She really bit me." One of them mumbles to himself. "When we catch her, I'll be the first to have some fun with her." Isilya's eyes widen and she clenches her jaw shut. She looks back at Levi, who lets out a breath and gives her a slight nod. There's no way they're going to let those men do anything to the small girl.

The three men argue about if the girl would be fun or not, poking fun at how skinny and feisty she is. Isilya glares down at them. One of the men notices the group by the doorway.

"Hey, there's a dirty little kid over there, right?" The man calls up to them.

"Those are the only kinds around," Furlan says, a smirk on his face. If Isilya wasn't so angry, she would've laughed at his words. The man walks up the stairs to Levi's house.

"You guys are the thugs in this area, huh?" He asks. He pauses when he sees the pig-tailed girl on the floor.

"Hey, I found her!" He calls down to the other two men. They walk up the stairs to meet him.

"Are you all friends?" One of them asks. Isilya watches as one of them licks their lips as they stare at the girl. She glances down to see that the kid hasn't moved at all. She sits there, cradling the bird against her stomach, her hair covering most of her face.

"Not at all." Levi states.

"Then hand her over to us." The man replies. "You'll be sorry if you cover for her."

"After all, she tried to get past the 11th stairway without paying." Another one of the men informs them. Isilya and Furlan look at one another, shock on their faces. Levi blinks at the information but doesn't react.

"You all should know already, the 11th stairway is under the jurisdiction of one of the nobles, Lobov." The man continues, "Anyone who tries to pass there without paying is prosecuted. Of course, you guys will be charged too for being her accomplices." This causes the young girl to look up, gasping. Isilya's grasp on her knife tightens, but it remains hidden by the way she stands. She moves to step in front of the girl, but Levi sends her a look so she remains in place, trusting that he has a plan.

"So, hurry up and hand her over!" The third man yells at them.

"You're taking too long. Move away from her." The first man spits, walking up the rest of the stairs to the group. As he passes Levi, he puts his hand on his shoulder, a dark chuckle escaping his mouth as he stares at the girl. Levi's eyes widen the slightest bit and Isilya steps in front of the girl, knowing what's to come. She glares at the man with all of the hatred inside of her in her eyes. The man falters under her stare, giving Levi the perfect opportunity.

With one fluid movement, Levi raises his arm, slicing through the man's palm. Blood splatters over the entryway. The man screeches as he stumbles back, grabbing his wound. The young girl looks up, watching with wide eyes as Levi punches the man. Furlan just stares, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

Within a few seconds, the man is on his knees, beaten and bloodied. Levi grabs him by his collar and lifts him up. The young girl watches from her spot on the floor, amazed that Levi is able to lift the much larger man.

"Don't touch me with your filthy hand. I might get dirty." Levi speaks calmly, which is somehow more terrifying to the man than yelling. With that warning, Levi pushes the man down the stairs. He crashes into the other two, who are barely able to catch him.

"Oh my, you can't come in like that. We always prioritize hygiene, here." Furlan explains with a grin on his face as Levi takes out a handkerchief and cleans off his blade. Isilya maintains her guard in front of the girl, glancing down to make sure she's alright.

"Wash your hands and come again." Furlan's grin grows wider. Isilya's mouth lifts up slightly at his clever words, but she refuses to let herself relax completely.

"Let's get out of here. This group is dangerous." The three men walk away, two of them supporting the third as he hobbles down the steps. The young girl stares up at Levi with wonder in her eyes. The three turn to stare at her.

"How long are you going to hold it to your stomach?" Levi asks calmly as if he hadn't just beaten a man bloody.

"It'll die if you keep it like that." He states. The young girl gasps, looking down at the bird.

"I- I thought it'd be warm that way." She explains as she loosens her grip. Isilya crouches down next to the girl, looking at the bird. The girl loosens her arms a bit more so Isilya can see it better.

"What's with the bird?" Furlan asks, noticing it for the first time.

"It got lost on its way here. Probably through a duct." The girl explains with a smile, "I thought I should bring it back to the surface." Furlan shakes his head at her.

"You tried to break through the 11th stairway for a bird?" He asks in disbelief. Isilya smiles at the girl, reassuring her. The girl looks down at the bird as she pets it.

"It would want to fly in the sky instead of being stuck down here like us." The girl states. Isilya and Furlan give one another a look as he crouches to join them on the floor.

"That's nice, but..." He falters, glancing at Isilya for help. She turns to the girl.

"It's wing is injured. We need to-" Isilya is cut off but the girl.

"Really?!" The girl starts to panic, but Isilya places her hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. We can help it." Isilya smiles. She leads the girl inside. Furlan follows them as Levi shuts the door and goes to sit at the kitchen table. Furlan and Isilya sit on the living room couches and get to work. Isilya carefully instructs Furlan on how to properly wrap the small creature. Isabel watches from the other couch.

"You two are really good." The girl says, smiling as she leans forward to stare at the bandaged bird. Then, she sits up in excitement.

"Oh! What're your names? I'm Isabel." The girl grins at the group. Isilya and Furlan smile back at her.

"I'm Furlan." Furlan hands the bird back to Isabel as he introduces himself.

"I'm Isilya and that's Levi," Isilya explains, pointing over her shoulder at Levi.

"Furlan, Isilya, and..." Isabel repeats their names, staring at Levi, "Levi-bro!" Levi looks over at her with a bored expression.

"Bro?" Levi questions. Furlan and Isilya exchange humored glances, both of them doing their best not to laugh at Levi.

"Listen," Isabel starts, "Please let me be a part of your group."

"What?" Furlan asks, shock on his face.

"You're the ones who use ODM gear, aren't you? I've seen you before. I'm so envious. You fly like birds." Isabel explains, staring at the bird in her lap. "Please. I want to do it, too!" Everyone is silent for a moment.

"What do you think?" Furlan asks Levi. Levi stares at the floor, thinking. Then, he looks up at Isilya. She raises her brows, waiting for his answer. He can see in her eyes that it doesn't matter what he decides. Isilya will end up taking care of this girl, anyway. Levi sighs and stands up, walking out of the room. As he passes Isabel, she turns to him.

"Please!" Levi pauses as she begs.

"If you stay here, learn how to clean before you learn how to use ODM gear. You can start with the dirt you left by the door." Levi continues to walk out of the room. Isabel watches him go, confused. Furlan and Isilya smile at one another, knowing that although Levi acts cold, he's very caring. Isabel turns to look at the two of them for answers.

Isilya nods at Isabel with a smile. Isabel returns the gesture and jumps up and down in her chair. She turns around to shout at Levi as he walks away.

"Thank you, Levi-bro!"


	15. Useful

Levi steps through the portal into Isilya's lab. His eyes scan the room. There are piles of crumpled up papers on the floor and portals of all different sizes and shapes are attached to different things around the room. He scowls at the sight. Isilya has always been disorganized, to an outsider's perspective, but she's usually rather clean. She had explained the difference to Levi in the first few weeks of them knowing one another and he had come to see that she was right. She was never organized, but she wasn't messy. She knew where everything was and could find something specific in her lab in under thirty seconds, though finding the same thing could take Levi half an hour.

Levi carefully walks through the lab and into the hallway. He looks back at the mess behind him, a bad feeling in his gut. Isilya is rarely ever _this_ messy. Levi turns away from the lab and walks through the long hallway, checking a couple of other rooms along his way to the kitchen. Isilya isn't in the bedroom that she turned into her clinic. He knocks on the bathroom door but she isn't in there, either. When Levi walks into the kitchen, he's expecting Isilya to be there. Furlan and Isabel had both been at Levi's house when he walked through the portal into Isilya's lab, so she couldn't be off doing something stupid with them.

Hearing a humming noise coming from the corner of the kitchen, Levi narrows his eyes and goes to investigate. There's nothing in the corner. Nothing he can see at least. With a click of his tongue, Levi runs his hands along the wall, waiting for one of them to fall through it. After a few seconds, his right hand disappears into the wall. A cool breeze tickles his fingers. He pulls his hand back and sticks his head through.

Isilya sits on a patch of grass, laying under the sun with her eyes closed. Levi steps fully thought the portal and quietly approaches her, looking around the area. It's the place they released Isabel's bird when it was able to fly again. A large hole in the ceiling of the cavern tucked away and hidden from others. The group had tried to use their ODM gear to get out through it, but the rocks were too crumbly. They would fall away when they shot hooks at them. There was no way to climb up the sides, either. Often, the group would sit there together, talking about what life would be like on the surface or asking Isilya to tell them more and more about her world.

Levi stops a few meters away from Isilya, listening to the eerie tune she's humming. It matches the frown on her face. After a minute or so, Isilya opens her eyes as she finishes her song, turning her head to the side to stare at Levi. The sun shines on her skin, revealing the trail of dried tears on her cheeks. He walks over and sits down next to her in silence. They stare up at the sky together.

"I'm fine." Isilya states. Levi glances down at her for a second.

"You don't look fi-" Levi starts, but pauses as Isilya turns to glare at him.

"Then look away." Isilya maintains eye contact with Levi, daring him to say something else. Eventually, he looks back at the clouds. He wants to say something, anything, to make her feel better. Seeing Isilya sad and not knowing what to do about it feels like a punch to his stomach. But, he's never been good at comforting anyone. Besides, he's aware she's probably missing home, or at least missing her siblings, Charlie, Lillian, and some of the other kids. He can't do anything about that.

"We haven't seen you for a few days. Isabel and Furlan were getting worried." Levi states, pretending the rest of their conversation hadn't happened. Isilya lets out a short laugh at his words.

"You're full of shit," Isilya states, "You can just tell me that you missed me." She watches as a few birds fly in and then out of their view. Levi can see a small smirk on her face out of the corner of his eye.

"How's the research going?" Levi doesn't agree with or deny Isilya's words as he changes the subject. He turns to look at her as she sighs.

"I've managed to put a lock and key system of sorts on the portals." Levi raises an eyebrow at her words.

"Besides what Clyde already had?" Levi questions, his face blank. Isilya nods.

"The problem with the way he did it is that it's a hand movement. Anyone can do it. I've managed to link the gloves and portals up with a few objects that act as keys. And I have my own object linked with the gloves as well, so only somebody with it can use the gloves." Isilya explains. Levi lets out a quiet sigh of relief.

"So we won't have another incident. Like when Isabel tried to-" Levi starts.

"Exactly." Isilya cuts him off with a nod and a frown. A shiver goes down her spine as she remembers watching in horror as Isabel 'borrowed' the gloves to mess with a portal Isilya had set up earlier that day. The energetic girl had almost sent Levi's couches into the sewer.

The two of them continue to sit in silence, thinking about all that has happened in the short amount of time since Isabel joined their group. They'd done many jobs together, the four of them making a perfect team. Levi can't even imagine what it would be like to work without Isilya behind the scenes, again. Or without a group, again. He's surprised as he realizes this. He's come to trust and rely on these three people. Part of his brain still shouts at him that he's being careless and stupid for allowing him to do so, but a larger part of his brain decides to ignore that thought. It isn't easy, but he does trust them.

While they've been working together, the four of them had made their group well known, well respected, and feared by some. However, most people don't know that Isilya exists. She's rarely on jobs with them in person, so nobody sees her. Instead, they see the trio, lightning fast and fearsome. They have no knowledge of the woman behind their quick escapes and impressive information gathering.

Isilya lets out another sigh, disrupting the silence. Levi looks down at her as she turns onto her side and rests her head in his lap. Her hair has grown out long, the natural dark brown changing to bright blue around her shoulders. Levi absentmindedly picks up a strand, twirling it in his fingers as they watch the birds fly above them. Isilya sighs in contentment. They stay like that, neither saying anything. Neither of them feels like they have to. But, eventually, Isilya shifts away from him and stands up.

"Come on. I'll show you. Furlan and Isabel, too."

* * *

The four friends stand in Isilya's lab. All of the crumpled paper has been thrown into a bag under Isilya's desk and all of the random portals have been closed. Isilya had cleaned her face while Levi went to fetch the other two of their group so they couldn't tell that she was crying. Levi had promised to not say anything to them.

"So, as you all know, we can lock and unlock portals like this," Isilya states, opening up a portal into a random part of the city, sticking her finger into it and making the motion Clyde had taught her. The image in the portal fades to blend in with the wall. Isilya waits a moment, then unlocks it, the city coming back into view.

"The downside to this is that anybody can do it. Anyone can mess with the portals if they find out about them and this motion." Isilya walks over to her desk and grabs a small object off of it. She walks over to Levi and holds it out to him. He raises his eyebrows as he stares down at the ring. He notices that Isilya is wearing a matching one.

"Are you proposing to me, brat?" Levi stares down at Isilya, though they're the same height. She meets his gaze and holds it for a moment. With a roll of her eyes, she turns back to the portal to hide her quickly reddening face.

"You wish. Put the damned thing on and I'll show you how it works." Isilya closes the portal and opens one into Levi's living room. Levi hides a smirk at Isilya's reaction and places the ring on one of his fingers. He looks up as Isilya steps back and gestures to the portal.

"Isabel, I think I left a knife on Levi's couch earlier. Could you grab it for me while I run and grab something from the kitchen?" Isilya asks, wearing the smile that she saves for Isabel. The younger girl smiles back up at the woman she's grown to consider a sister. With a nod, Isabel bounces towards the portal, full of energy as usual.

Levi and Furlan both flinch as Isabel smacks into the wall. She grabs her nose and glares at them as they start to chuckle. Isilya rushes over and wraps her arms around her, stealing Levi's handkerchief on the way and offering it to her friend.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't think you'd try to go through it so fast." Isilya explains, burying her head into the girl's pigtails. "Are you okay?" Isilya asks with her voice full of worry. Isabel holds the handkerchief to her nose and nods.

"I'm fine! Of course, I'm okay! It'll take more than a stupid wall to take me down." Isabel holds her head high in the air, looking almost regal if it weren't for the slightly bloodied cloth pressed against her nose. With a sigh, Isilya lets go of her and nods.

"Okay. If you're sure," Isilya starts as Isabel nods furiously. "Levi, your turn." Isilya gestures to the portal again. Levi narrows his eyes at her and approaches the portal. He pauses in front of it, glancing back at Isabel and Isilya before sticking his hand through it. Then, seeing that it's safe, he steps fully through, walking over to his couch and grabbing the knife that he's sure Isilya left there on purpose. He steps back through the portal and tosses the knife to Isilya. She catches it and sets it on her desk, picking up two smaller objects.

"With these rings," Isilya explains, tossing two more rings that look like her own to Furlan and Isabel, "You can pass through that portal.' Isabel immediately puts the ring on and tries to stick her hand through the portal. Once it goes through, she twirls around to shout at Isilya.

"That's awesome! Can you still create normal portals or are they all like this now? And can you do it with sound, too? Can you make-" Isabel stares up at Isilya with excitement, which is quickly crushed as Furlan talks over her.

"That's a good point. Can you make it so only people with the rings on can hear the noise from the other side of the portal?" Furlan sends an apologetic look to Isabel, who crosses her arms and glares at him. Isilya laughs and Levi clicks his tongue at their interaction.

"Yes, I can still create all of the other types of portals I've learned about. But I can't make it so the sound is only heard by wearers of the rings." Isilya answers sadly. She quickly perks up as she continues talking.

 _"But_ , I have managed something else that's pretty great. Each ring has a small portal attached to it. All four of them connect to one another so we can all talk to each other, instead of just me talking to each of you. And I can open up a few other portals attached to mine so I can see through all of yours, but none of you can see through any of them." As Isilya says this, the other three immediately look down at their rings, observing them. "That way nobody will accidentally see yours since you guys are out and about more than I am."

"However, it only works if you hold your hand in a certain way. That way we all don't constantly hear everything." Isilya explains, holding her hand up in a fist with her thumb and pinky sticking out. "If you hold your hand like this and put it up to your ear and mouth, then you can talk to the rest of us. You have to do it if you want to listen, too." Isabel immediately puts her hand up to her head in the position Isilya had shown them and runs out of the room.

"But how can we tell when somebody is trying to-" Furlan starts to ask a question, but pauses as a small tingling sensation runs through his finger from the ring. He puts his own hand up to his head and smiles as he hears Isabel's voice through it. Levi and Isilya place their hands up and listen, too.

"-this work? It'd be so cool if this works. Can any of you hear-" Isabel is in the middle of a ramble when Levi cuts in to respond.

"We can hear you, brat," Levi states in his usual bored voice. They all hear Isabel squeal from the other side of the portal.

"Levi-bro! This is awesome!" Isabel states as she runs back into the room. The four of them put their hands down again.

"When you put your fingers out like that, you're activating the portal. It's dormant, otherwise. The link between your three rings is still there, but it isn't doing anything. I've made it so the link with mine is always active." Isilya finishes explaining with a smile on her face. Isabel jumps up and down. Furlan smiles and nods at Isilya, showing that he's impressed. Levi just stares at the ring on his finger. After a minute, he looks up to meet Isilya's gaze.

"This is useful." Levi states. Isilya waits for a moment for more words to come, but none do. She lets out a quiet sigh an nods in response.

"That's me and my research. Useful." Isilya's voice is cheerful, but her expression doesn't match it as she turns back to the portal into Levi's living room and closes it. She walks over to her desk, plopping down and picking up a pen to write some notes in her research journal. Furlan gestures for Isabel to head back with him through the still open portal to Levi's kitchen. Isabel glances between Levi and Isilya and nods, following Furlan back home.

Isilya sits in silence, pretending to be writing important things in her notes. Levi stands there quietly. After a minute, he lets out a sigh and walks over to Isilya. He reaches out to put his hand on her shoulder but thinks better of it before she notices. For obvious reasons, most of the time she doesn't like being touched unless she's the one who has initiated it, especially if she can't see the person's entire body.

Levi moves to stand at Isilya's side, sure that she can see him there. He crouches down and looks up at her. Isilya stops moving the pen and exhales through her nose, turning to look at Levi. She waits for him to say something. Carefully, he leans up and places his lips against Isilya's cheek. She sucks in a breath. He lingers for a moment, then pulls back, standing up and walking through the portal into his kitchen.


	16. Together and Apart

Isilya tosses and turns, haunting images running through her mind as she sleeps. Images of Charlie and Lillian in pain. Images of Zak with his cruel smile. Images of her siblings, all alone as they die. She trashes around and bolts up into a sitting position on her sleeping mat. She presses one hand against her chest, over her rapidly beating heart, and the other over her mouth. Tears roll down her face.

Hearing fast approaching footsteps, Isilya looks up to see Levi rushing into the lab from his kitchen. He has a knife in hand. His eyes scan the room before he puts it away. Isilya stares up at him, pulling her sleeping bag up to cover her revealed skin. She wears a loose crop top and leggings.

"You were screaming." Levi states.

"Oh. Sorry." Isilya mumbles, uncovering her mouth. "Just a bad dream."

Levi glances back into his house through the portal, then he sighs. Before Isilya can react, Levi picks her up. She scrambles to throw her arms around his neck as he adjusts his hold on her back and under her knees.

"What are you doing?" Isilya glares at Levi. He says nothing as he walks through the portal. Isilya sighs and rests her head against his shoulder, waiting to see what his plan is. Levi walks into his bedroom and puts Isilya down in the bed, walking out of the room. Before he closes the door, he turns back to look at her.

"Hopefully this house has better memories for you," Levi explains, closing the door as he walks away. Isilya sits frozen, staring at nothing in the darkness. She allows herself to fall back onto the pillow. She turns to her side and breathes in, smiling when she finds that it smells like Levi.

* * *

Levi opens the door slowly and quietly, checking in on Isilya. His eyes soften when he sees her asleep. He moves to back out of the room and close the door behind him, but then he hears Isilya start shifting. She rolls over and her eyes flutter open as she yawns, smiling at Levi when she sees him. Then, she seems to remember what happened and where she is.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Isilya rubs her eyes and pushes herself up by her elbows.

"Two hours," Levi states, leaning against the door frame. Isilya stares down at the blanket that covers her. She lets out a breath and looks back up to Levi.

"I know you don't sleep much, but you should still try." Isilya questions. "I can go back to-" Levi makes Isilya pause as he walks into the room, closing the door behind him. He plops down on the other side of the bed and stares at the ceiling. Isilya blinks, then she starts laughing. Levi turns his head to glare at her.

"What's so funny?" Levi questions as Isilya begins to calm down. She rolls onto her side to face him, a smile gracing her lips. Levi's heart skips a beat as he watches her.

"Nothing," Isilya insists. She closes her eyes, still smiling, and slowly falls back to sleep. Eventually, by listening to Isilya's calm and even breathing, Levi manages to fall asleep, too.

* * *

Levi awakes in the morning and is surprised to find that he feels well rested for once. He tries to roll out of bed to start his day but a weight on his arm holds him back. He turns his head to look down at Isilya. She's cuddled up to his chest and his arms are wrapped around her. Her hands lightly grasp onto his shirt. Levi turns his head away to listen for any noise throughout the house. Hearing nothing, he allows himself to look back at Isilya and smile.

The smile on Levi's face fades as he thinks about the job offer he'd received recently. Taking it would mean that they could all have a life on the surface. But it also puts Isilya in danger. It puts all of them in danger. Not taking it is just as dangerous, though. Staying in this city isn't good for any of them in any way. And it's only a matter of time before their bodies start to show it.

Like Yan, one of the men who sometimes works with them through Furlan. His leg is bad and there's nothing they can do about it down here. Between the lack of good doctors and the lack of food and sunlight, they can only hope that it doesn't get worse. Nobody bothers to hope that it will get better.

With those thoughts running through his head, Levi stares down at Isilya. He reminds himself that even though she's spent so long in this city and probably knows it better than anyone else who lives here, she wasn't born here. She wasn't born in this world. She doesn't deserve to be stuck down here and get sick and then die. He can't get her back home, but at least he can try to get her a life on the surface. Somewhere in Wall Sina. Somewhere safe.

With a sigh, Levi decides to get up and clean his already sparkling kitchen before going to talk to Furlan and Isabel about accepting the job. However, when he tries to move his arm out from under Isilya, she lets out a whimper in her sleep and cuddles closer to him. Levi sucks in a breath as Isilya nuzzles her nose against his neck. He sighs happily and wraps his arms back around her. A few more minutes can't hurt.

Levi lays there, eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of Isilya against him. He doesn't know how much time passes before she begins to stir. She moves to roll over but freezes, eyes opening to see what's in her way.

"Levi?" Isilya questions, blinking at him. Levi keeps his eyes closed, grunting in response. Isilya chuckles and leans into him again. Levi lets out a breath and tightens his arms around her.

"Thank you," Isilya whispers into Levi's neck. They lay there in silence for a few more minutes, content. Then, Isilya shifts her head over slightly and places a small kiss on Levi's shoulder. Levi pauses. He moves so his forehead is pressed against hers. They lay there, staring into each other's eyes, small smiles on both of their faces.

"You have a beautiful smile. I wouldn't mind seeing it more often." Isilya states, reaching up to run her thumb along Levi's lips. He closes his eyes, letting out a low hum. Isilya rests her hand on Levi's jaw, gently tracing shapes on his cheek with her fingers.

Levi opens his eyes to stare at her. He glances down at her hand on his cheek. And, Isilya almost swears, she sees his eyes glance at her lips before moving back up to her eyes. A blush rises on her cheeks.

"You can kiss me, you know." Isilya teases. Levi manages to control the heat running to his cheeks. He thinks about the feeling of her lips pressing against his, pulling her body further into his own, and never letting go. He stares into her eyes as she waits for him to do or say anything. He leans forward slightly, then remembers the plan he's crafted for the upcoming job. He freezes.

Isilya watches him with interest in her eyes. When he doesn't make a move, she leans forward and places her lips against his cheek, leaving them there as Levi exhales. Then, far too soon for both of them, Isilya pulls away. She smiles at Levi and rolls out of his grasp, standing up from the bed.

Levi watches as she stretches her arms above her head, causing her crop top to lift and reveal more of her skin. He clenches his jaw as he remembers the times he's dreamed about seeing her like that. Seeing more of her. Seeing all of her.

Isilya looks over her shoulder as she leaves the room, sending another smile to Levi. When the door closes behind her, Levi leans back against his pillow. He buries his face in it when he realizes it smells like Isilya. He breathes in and lets out a muffled groan. He shouldn't allow himself to care for her like that, but he can't help it. He has been hoping that he would succeed in this job and build a good life for her in Wall Sina. Maybe they'd live together. He could get a real job. Doing what? He has no idea. Something that pays well enough to take care of Isilya while also being safe enough that he knows he can always come home to her.

Levi stands up and walks over to the door, opening it. He stares at Isilya while she hums, dancing around the kitchen as she prepares four cups of tea and a small breakfast.

There's a pang in Levi's heart as he realizes that that's what he wants. More than anything. He wants to come home to see Isilya every day with a smile on her face. They could drink tea and sit together on the couch, leaning against one another and being satisfied by just being with each other.

Isilya glances up at him as she pours the tea into the cups. Her smile never leaves her lips as she continues to hum. Levi walks over and pulls out a chair, sitting at the table and snatching one of the teacups. Isilya laughs at him as he takes a sip with his eyes closed. He only bothers to open one eye to glare at her. This only causes her to laugh more.

This is what Levi wants. And this is what he can't have.

"Yes! _Is_ made pancakes!" Isabel shouts as she runs into the room, sitting down at the table and piling a couple of pancakes onto her plate. Furlan walks in after her, rolling his eyes with a smile.

"Nice try, _Is_." Furlan pats Isabel on her head as he sits down next to her. "You're the one stuck with that nickname." Isabel bats his hand away and mumbles to herself as she pours syrup over her pancakes. Levi watches the interaction with amusement in his eyes. Isilya smiles and sits down next to Levi.

Everyone eats their breakfast in silence, enjoying the warm pancakes. When everyone has finished, Isilya picks up their plates and washes them. Furlan leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, eyes full of excitement.

"So, Levi, when do we start the job?" Furlan questions. Isabel leans forward, too.

"Yeah! We're going to accept it, right?" Isabel asks as she bounces in her seat. Isilya places the last plate on the drying rack, turning towards them and placing a hand on her hip.

"What job offer?" Isilya raises an eyebrow at Levi. Usually, they tell her about the jobs so they can discuss it together and form a skeleton plan before accepting it. Levi glares at Furlan.

"You haven't told her, yet?" Isabel's jaw drops open. She sends Furlan a wide-eyed look. He returns it. They pick up their teacups, leaving the room.

* * *

"No," Isilya states, "Not without me." She sits with her arms crossed, her face a mix of fear, worry, and determination. Levi sips his tea.

"You don't have a choice," Levi states, staring at her with bored eyes.

"Levi. I know you're just doing this to protect me, but I should get to choose if I want to help. Like you probably let Furlan and Isabel choose." Isilya pleads to Levi, but he doesn't budge. He doesn't say anything in response.

"Let me protect you, too." Isilya's eyes begin to water as she watched Levi finish his tea.

"You're not going to watch over us the whole time, are you? It's creepy." Levi states as he stands up, walking to the wash basin.

"If I'm not watching, then I don't know if I need to help you escape somewhere or not." Isilya furrows her brows. Levi and the others had always been grateful for Isilya's guidance. None of them had ever complained about it before. She'd saved their lives many times, especially since she gave them the rings.

"You're going to see some terrible things out there. You shouldn't have to. You shouldn't be helping us." Levi doesn't look at Isilya as he washes his cup. She turns in her seat to stare at him.

"Levi, like it or not, I'm a part of this group, too. I don't go on your jobs with you, but I'm by your side anyways!" Isilya cries out.

"Well, you shouldn't be!" Levi turns his head to glare at her. "If you're still trying to pay me back from saving you and those kids..." Levi shakes his head and turns back to wash the cup in his hands. "You've already saved our lives enough times to make up for that, brat."

Isilya stares at Levi in disbelief. They'd been through so much together and that's what he thought she was doing? No. Isilya knows he's just trying to get her to distance herself from him for her own sake. She also knows hat she's not going to do that.

"If that's why you think, then you're an idiot, Levi." Isilya stands up and walks over to him.

"Tsk. Watch us until we get above ground. Once you find a good place to hide a portal so you can get up there, we're crushing the rings." Levi sets his cup on the drying rack and turns to meet Isilya's gaze. She searches his face with widened eyes, then clenches her jaw and turns away, taking a few steps as she creates a portal in the middle of the room. She stomps through it, closing it behind her. Levi stares at the kitchen table, looking at Isilya's half empty teacup as he lets his shoulders slump. It's for her own good. He has to protect her.


	17. Captured

Furlan and Isabel stand awkwardly behind Isilya as she sits at her desk. They watch as she scribbles notes into a journal, pausing to flip back a few pages and double check something. She nods to herself and turns back to the page she was on, writing down something else.

"So, what if somebody finds the portal into your world? Can you close it just as easily as the others you make?" Furlan speaks up, fidgeting with the ring on his finger, a habit that he and Isabel had both started.

"I'm sure that I could. But, since I still haven't been able to open a new portal between these two worlds, I'd prefer to leave that one open as long as possible." Isilya stops speaking so she can write down something else. Then she puts her pencil down on the desk and turns to look at her friends.

"It's locked, it's small, and it's set up in a wardrobe on this side and in a closet on the other. The chances of someone finding it are low. Even if they're looking for it." Isilya states. Furlan nods in understanding. Isabel opens her mouth to say something but pauses mid breath as she stares at the portal into Levi's kitchen. Furlan follows her gaze and starts to fidget more. Isilya doesn't bother to look at Levi as he walks in through the portal.

"Ready?" Levi asks, though his monotone voice makes it sound like a statement. Furlan and Isabel both glance at Isilya. Then, they turn back to Levi and nod.

"What about you, brat?" Levi doesn't bother to look at Isilya as he speaks. He stares at the wall in front of him.

Isilya considers standing up and punching Levi in the face, knocking some sense into him. She also considers begging or crying, trying to guilt him into letting her help them more. She considers a lot of things. In the end, she decides to stand up and speak the truth.

"I wish you'd let me help, but I understand that won't be an option. So, I will help for as long as you let me." Isilya lets a silent sigh escape her lips. "I'm ready." Levi still doesn't look at Isilya as she talks. When she finishes, he simply grunts in response. Isilya walks over to one of the walls, raising her hands into the air and weaving them in an intricate pattern. The other three watch her, as they usually do, with awestruck looks in their eyes. She takes a step back once the portal has fully formed.

"Remember, I upgraded the rings. Now we can hear one another without lifting up our hands to our mouths and ears." Isilya smiles at her friends, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "The portals are still attached to the rings by a thread of sorts, but now they hover by your shoulders, close to your mouths." Isilya raises her hands to demonstrate where the portals exist. She looks to see their reactions. After what Levi had said earlier, she isn't sure if the response will be positive or negative. She had done it to try and make it easier for them.

"That's great. Thanks, Isilya." Furlan response after an awkward pause. Isilya offers a lopsided smile to him. He and Isabel both smile back at her, thankful. Levi acts as if he hadn't heard a word she said.

Furlan walks over to Isilya and wraps his arms around her upper back, picking her up off of the ground and squeezing her tightly. Isilya squeaks and laughs, wrapping her arms around him in return. As soon as he lets go, he smiles sadly at her. She returns the look.

"For Yan." Isilya reminds him. Furlan's smile widens slightly.

"And for the four of us," Furlan responds. He steps through the portal, waving to Isilya before turning around and going to start his part of the plan.

Isabel rushes up next. She throws her arms around Isilya's sides and pushes her face into Isilya's neck. Isilya nearly stumbles as she places one of her legs further back to accommodate Isabel as she clings onto her.

"I'll miss you," Isabel whispers. Isilya pauses and places a kiss on the top of her friend's head. She tries to decide if Isabel actually wants a response. Since the girl had spoken so quietly, it was almost as if she didn't want to be heard.

"I'll miss you, too, Is." Isilya lays her cheek on top of Isabel's hair. "But you're going to be up on the surface. And you're going to do amazing. I believe in you." As Isilya finishes, Isabel blushes. She pushes away from the woman she's come to consider something between a sister, a friend, and a mother.

"Of course I'll do great!" Isabel sputters. She crosses her arms and lets out a puff of air. Then, she glances back at Isilya and lets out a small smile.

"Thank you." Isabel mumbles. The two girls hug one more time. Then, Isabel steps through the portal. She pauses, lifts her head up higher and straightens her spine, and shoots her ODM hooks into the air, flying away.

Levi steps forward and hesitates at the portal entrance. Isilya wants to screech at him. She wants to kick him. She wants to kiss him. She wants to grab onto him and never let him go. Instead, she watches as he stands there, staring into the portal. He starts to turn his head towards her, opening his mouth as if he plans to say something, then he stops. He faces forwards again, letting out a huff.

Isilya doesn't realize that she has started holding her breath until Levi has already passed through the portal and is nothing but a blur in the distance. She lets out her breath and falls to her knees. Tears sit at the corner of her eyes. She stares at her hands as they hold her body up off the ground. The ring on her finger shines up at her, but she looks away from it.

Isilya allows herself to feel bad for about another fifteen seconds. Then, she stands up and sits at her desk, staring at the portals she had set up earlier that morning. Maybe if she does her part well enough then Levi will change his mind. Maybe he'll let her come with them. Maybe he'll realize that she's truly a member of their team. Maybe he'll realize that she belongs with them. With him. Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Isilya decides to focus on the mission. It doesn't matter if Levi is being ridiculous. She still has to keep him and her friends alive.

* * *

One portal closes as Isilya opens another in its place. She closes and opens portals quickly as she watches Levi, Isabel, and Furlan fly through the city, leading their pursuers around. They dive under bridges, jump over market carts, and push through people and crowds. Isilya used to feel bad about the ruckus they would make throughout the city while they worked on escapes. It happened more often than she would like. But now, she's used to it. She barely takes a second to apologize to the people on the street in her head. Then, she goes back to finding her friends a better route.

Isabel and Furlan are talking to one another about how good the military police members that are following them are doing, but Levi stays silent, contemplating something. Isilya realizes what he's thinking before he voices it. She opens a portal behind their pursuers and looks through it.

"Levi, you're right," Isilya speaks to him through the portals attached to their rings. She watches him nod as he shouts instructions to Isabel and Furlan. They circle around the next pillar in the large cavern, watching their pursuers maneuver with ease.

"It's the Survey Corps," Isilya speaks to the three of them. Isabel and Furlan question her, surprised. Levi confirms that he saw their cloaks when they circled the pillar.

"You all get it, right?" Levi questions, glancing back at Furlan and Isabel.

"Of course!" Isabel shouts, confidence in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah," Furlan mumbles, worried about the plan. Levi looks at both of them, then directs them to split up. Isabel and Furlan shoot off in separate directions. Isilya closes portals that she doesn't need anymore, then opens some around her three friends as they head different ways.

"Furlan. Take a left at that taller building, then head straight for two alleys, then a right." Isilya directs, finding the path that Furlan will be able to get through the fastest. Furlan nods in response and shoots out his hooks.

"Is. Head straight, left at the old tavern, another left at the start of the market." Isilya explains Isabel's path to her. She knows that Isabel strives in more crowded areas, using the crowd and their objects to distract and confuse pursuers.

"Got it," Isabel whispers as she wipes off some sweat from her forehead. She smirks and lets out more gas, flying towards the old tavern.

"Levi. Take a left at the-" Isilya stops talking as Levi clicks his tongue. She twists her lips to the side. She watches for a second as he weaves between some clothing lines. He said she could help, so why won't he let her help him? She resists the urge to say anything to him and turns her attention back to Furlan as he swings around a corner.

"Furlan. Left, straight for five alleys, left, straight, right." Isilya watches as Furlan shoots out a hook, following her directions. She turns her head to see Isabel still outmaneuvering the Survey Corps through the crowd, so she turns her attention back to Levi.

"Levi, let me-" Isilya starts.

"No." Levi interrupts. Isilya stares at him through the portal, stunned. She glances back at Furlan and Isabel's portals.

"Isabel, take the third left, then right, then straight and you're there," Isilya states, watching as Isabel follows her directions. She peeks at Furlan's portal, seeing him near his destination as well.

"Good luck," Isilya whispers to the two of them, watching as they both pretend to fumble and allow the Survey Corps members to catch them. They put up a good fight, and would certainly beat the soldiers if it was a real fight, but they both allow themselves to get hit. Isilya keeps an eye on them both as they let the soldiers win. One of them grabs Isabel around the waist and carries her away as she continues to fake a fight. Isilya frowns at the harsh grip the soldier has on her friend but turns her attention back to Levi.

"Le-" Isilya speaks and opens up more portals around Levi's path as he zigzags across the city.

"No." Levi interrupts Isilya again. She lets out a frustrated noise and opens her mouth to retort. But her attention is captured by fast movement in a portal she had just opened.

"Levi, if you keep going that way, you're going to-"

"Tsk. Shut up." Levi states as he swings around another corner. His eyes widen as one of the Survey Corps soldiers appears in front of him. He makes quick work of fighting off that one but loses sight of the other one who had been following him. Levi looks around wildly for a moment, then smirks.

"See? I didn't need your help." Levi spits the words at Isilya. He shoots out a hook and swings around a corner.

"Levi, behind you!" Isilya screeches as the blond soldier appears out of nowhere. Levi turns around in time, just barely, to avoid the man's blades. However, the solder manages to slice through one of Levi's iron wires. Isilya flinches as Levi slams into a wall. She continues to watch with fear in her eyes as they engage in a fight. Levi isn't supposed to be caught here. Not yet.

This soldier is obviously more ruthless than the others. He fights well, although Isilya would never admit that to Levi. She watches as Levi manages to fling one of the soldier's blades away. He brings his fist around to throw a punch, but the first soldier rushes in to stop him. Levi manages to get a hook on that soldier's blade but pauses when he hears what the soldier yells at him.

"Stop! Look around you!" The soldier watches as Levi looks behind him. Isabel and Furlan walk up to them, both being lead by other Survey Corps members. Isabel still kicks and fights, even while Furlan tells her to stop wasting her energy. Levi sends a glare full of hatred to the two soldiers who managed to corner him. He pretends to look around and consider his options. He makes a show of eyeing the walls around him, seeing where he could fly off to. Then, he gives in.

Isilya watches as Levi is shoved down to his knees in the mud next to Isabel and Furlan. She smirks when they all growl and glare up at the soldiers.

The tall, blond one that captured Levi steps forward. He questions the trio, but they remain silent. The soldier gives them some time to respond. When they don't, he frowns.

"I'd like to avoid any rough treatment if I can." The soldier states, looking at his partner. The other soldier nods at him and grabs Levi by his hair, shoving his face into a muddy puddle. Isilya imagines how angry Levi must be to have his clothes and skin so dirty. She'd never met anyone that was as much of a neat freak as Levi.

She thinks about opening a portal up next to the soldier's face and punching him. But no. She knows she can't ruin the plan. And it would only make Levi even more mad at her. She's still mad at him, anyway. She chews her lip and watches the scene play out in front of her.

Isabel finally cracks as Levi's face gets shoved into the puddle again. She reveals that they taught themselves how to use the ODM gear. The commanding soldier reveals his name is Erwin Smith. He asks for their names for the second time. The soldiers around them listen intently, constantly looking at Erwin for any orders.

Levi remains silent. His face gets pushed into the puddle again. Isilya clenches her jaw as Levi is allowed up, gasping for breath. Mud drips down from his face and hair. Erwin stares down at Levi, then glances at the other two. Isilya notices a small look of realization cross Erwins face, and she furrows her brows, worried.

Erwin threatens Levi with Isabel's and Furlan's lives. Isilya tenses up as the soldiers holding her two friends press long blades against their necks.

"You bastard." Levi spits the words out at Erwin, who doesn't react to the threatening look on Levi's face. Most people in the Underground would turn and run if they saw an expression filled with such malice. Levi clenches his teeth together in a snarl, then opens his mouth to speak.

"It's Levi," Levi states, watching as Erwin steps into the puddle and kneels down to his level.

"Levi. Would you make a deal with me?"

"A deal?" The soldier holding Levi down allows him to sit up onto his knees, though he maintains a tight grip on his arms.

"I won't ask about your crimes. In return, you will join the Survey Corps." Erwin explains. The trio share confused glances.

"If I refuse?" Levi questions, staring up at Erwin.

"Then I turn you over to the military police. With your crimes, I don't think you or your three comrades can expect decent treatment." Erwin smirks as Isabel tenses, confirming his theory about the fourth member. Levi stares up at Erwin with a blank face. Back in the lab, Isilya freezes, barely breathing.

"What're you talking about?" Furlan tries to cover for Isabel. "It's just us. Don't give anyone else credit for our work!" Furlan glares up at Erwin, doing his best to act offended. Erwin stares him down. Isilya silently curses as she sits behind the portals, watching.

"Choose whichever path you wish." Erwin turns back to Levi and waits patiently for a response. "If you join, no harm will come to your partner." Erwin watches Levi for a reaction. Levi clenches his jaw slightly, but tries to act like the words don't impact him. The four of them can't help but wonder how the Survey Corps found out about Isilya.

"Very well. I'll join the Survey Corps." Levi agrees, his face a mask of boredom as usual. Isabel and Furlan exchange looks with one another, then try their best to look unsure before nodding at Levi. Erwin smiles at his triumph.

Isilya watches in pain as her friends get taken by the Survey Corps. It was all a part of their plan, but knowing that there's a chance she'll never see any of them again makes her heart hurt.

* * *

Levi, Furlan, and Isabel sit in a recently cleaned room in the Survey Corps Headquarters. The room is silent for a while as they contemplate how their job has been going. Technically, everything is still on track. As long as Erwin keeps his promise that Isilya will be left alone, they should still be able to proceed with the plan. Otherwise, the Survey Corps could easily hold their knowledge of their fourth member over their heads.

"She'll be safer away from us," Levi states, staring at his hands for a while before taking his ring off of his finger. Furlan and Isabel look at each other sadly, then do the same.

"Crush them."

* * *

That night, when Isabel leaves to use the bathroom, she pulls out a small object from her pocket. She puts the ring on her finger and sits against the wall.

"Hey. 'silya?" Isabel leans her head against the wall.

"Hey Is. Levi is going to be angry when he finds out you didn't crush your ring." Isilya's voice whispers into Isabel's ear. Isabel lets out a quiet laugh.

"I'll just make sure he doesn't find out, then," Isabel smirks. It turns into a smile as she hears her friend laugh.

"Okay. Tell me what I missed." Isilya listens carefully as Isabel tells her about what they've learned from the Survey Corps. She tells her about the expedition that's planned, the horror stories they've heard about the titans, and what their own plan is for stealing the paperwork they need from Erwin.

Isilya smiles when Isabel tells her about the soldiers who have fully dedicated their hearts to the Corps and the belief that they could one day live beyond the walls again. It makes Isilya remember her life before all of this madness had started. She had lived in a very large world. One that had many amazing places she could visit. She never had enough money to travel very far but she fondly recalls the first time she'd been in a plane. She had looked down at the earth from the sky, seeing the ground stretch out for miles and miles and miles. There was so much to see and so many places she could potentially go. She was trapped by money and family, not by walls.

As Isabel slowly falls asleep while talking about how the Scouts weren't all that bad or crazy, Isilya decides that she won't allow herself or her friends to be trapped away from their dreams. Never again.


	18. The Expedition

For the next few months, the trio trains with the Survey Corps. They get assigned to a squad and debriefed about the plans for an upcoming expedition. Every night, Isabel talks to Isilya through the portal ring. They trade stories of life above ground.

While the three of them have been working in the Corps, Isilya has been traveling throughout the walls. She keeps the hood of her cloak up at all times. Mostly, she trades favors and small jobs for stories and information about the world above ground. She knew that her home world and this world were different, but the differences between the Underground and the surface were rather significant, as well.

At first, when Isilya needed to sleep or eat, she would portal to the Underground city, to Levi's house or her base. One holds bad and sour memories, while the other houses bitter ones. For that reason, Isilya has gotten into the habit of grabbing food from Lillian's portal, then going outside of the walls. She would sit high in the large trees, both hooks of her ODM gear attached to the trunk as she eats her meals or goes to sleep. She quickly found out that none of the titans can climb trees well, and the ones that have tried never got far at all, so she had decided that she feels fairly safe outside of the walls. For her, it's better than being stuck inside of them.

* * *

Isilya watches through multiple portals as Levi, Furlan, and Isabel send one another suspicious glances. They sit on horseback, clutching the reins in their hands. The crowd around them creates a noisy sea of green. It begins to flow as Commander Shadis gives a small speech and the gates to the outer world rise through the air. The trio urges their horses forward, though the horses easily follow the crowd anyways.

As the trio rides through the gates, they become blinded by the bright sun. It takes a moment for their eyes to adjust. Isilya smiles wide as she watches her friend's faces as they comprehend what they're seeing.

"Woah! Amazing!" Isabel shouts.

The land before them seems to stretch out forever. There are no houses, no walls, no cavern roof over their head. There are trees and hills in the distance. The sun shines brightly in the blue sky, beating down on them in a way they've never felt before.

"Yeah. Not bad," Levi adds as he stares at the wide open space that they're riding into. There's almost nothing besides the Survey Corps, for as far as they can see. For the first time in their lives, the trio feels real freedom.

"I never meant to leave the walls. But I know Isilya would love to see this." Furlan whispers, staring in awe at the large trees in the distance. Levi lowers his gaze from the horizon, turning to glare at Furlan. Isabel watches her two friends with worry in her eyes.

"What?" Furlan questions Levi, not breaking eye contact. "You know she would." Furlan watches as Levi turns to stare forward again.

"It doesn't matter. She's not here." Levi states. Isabel takes in a deep breath and holds it for a moment. Furlan turns to look at her strangely. Isabel closes her eyes and lets out her breath, turning to Levi as she opens her eyes again.

"What if she was?" Isabel meets Levi's cold stare with a face of determination.

"Isabel…" Levi begins, his gaze slowly turning murderous. Furlan opens his mouth to intervene, but Isabel speaks up first.

"I'm not sorry! She's one of us. She deserves to see this, too!" Isabel returns Levi's glare, not backing down. "She deserves to see it with us."

"Like we always talked about," Furlan adds on, siding with Isabel. Levi stares at both of them, then glances down to the ring on Isabel's finger. She hadn't had it on that morning, so she must've hidden it in her cloak and put it on before they raised the gate. Levi raises his hand out towards Isabel, who shifts away from him. He sends her a look and she lets her shoulders sag. With her head down, she takes off the ring and hands it to Levi, who places it on his own finger.

Levi waits for a moment, remembering when Isilya had tried to explain the portals to him in more depth. She had mentioned something about the rings being able to switch between wearers, but the portals had to adjust themselves to the different sizes of whoever wore the ring. After a few moments, Levi whispers into the air in front of him.

"Isilya," Levi states her name. "Whatever happens, you will not intervene."

"What if you need he-" Isilya's voice answers from the space in front of Levi, who quickly cuts it off.

"We won't."

"Levi, damn it! I'm not doing this to settle a debt and I'm not doing this just to throw myself into danger. I care about you! All of you. If something happens to any of you while you're out there and I just sit and watch without doing anything…" Isilya's voice gets quieter and quieter. "I would never forgive myself." As Isilya speaks, Furlan and Isabel position their horses on either side of Levi, leaning in to hear what their friend has to say.

Isabel smirks at Levi's lack of response. She silently hopes that Isilya's words can make Levi change his mind. She also smiles into the air, knowing that Isilya is likely watching them from a portal somewhere, as well.

"I said don't intervene." Levi states. Furlan and Isabel send him disappointed looks, which he ignores.

"Levi," Isilya whispers his name. Levi resists the urge to comfort her. He wishes he could turn around, ride back to Isilya, and hear her say his name over and over again.

"Fine. But as you've made clear before, I'm shouldn't be one of your group. So I don't have to follow your orders." Isilya states the words with no emotion in her voice. Levi internally cringes. Is that what he sounds like to her? Is it his fault that he's torn the emotion from her beautiful voice? She's been through so much and she's always felt things so strongly, but now she sounds so cold. So empty. He decides instantly that he hates it.

Levi replays Isilya's words and their tone in his head as the trio continues to ride forward. When the Scouts split into the new formation, Levi tries to shake the memory from his mind. The words continue to repeat. Her voice circles around his head.

* * *

Isilya watches with worry in her eyes as the squad rides by a titan. A squad leader chooses to engage, but a second titan was hiding deeper in the trees. It ignores the few soldiers trying to draw it away. An abnormal.

Three soldiers engage. One gets grabbed by the titan, who stops moving to eat him. A second soldier tries to take advantage of the lack of movement and aims for the weak spot on the neck, but the titan turns around and bites the head off of that soldier as well. As the third soldier shoots forward, the titan begins running.

The trio's squad leader demands another soldier to follow him as he engages, but Levi takes control and heads towards the titan. Isabel and Furlan follow him as the squad leader shouts after them. Levi tells the other two to take out the titan's knees while he draws its attention.

Levi attaches his hooks to the lower back of the titan, causing it to stop and swing it's arms around to try and grab Levi. Isabel and Furlan take advantage of the distraction and fly between the titan's legs, spinning around and cutting around its knee. The titan sways and then falls forward. Levi releases his hooks and pushes himself into the air, allowing himself to fall right after the titan. He comes down fast and slices through the nape of the giant.

Isilya smiles as the trio takes down their first titan together. She silently cheers at their teamwork. The trio's squad leader and fellow soldiers watch in awe and disbelief.

There aren't many other titan encounters as the Survey Corps continues on their way to their supply stop. They make it there before nightfall, which is when the titans aren't active. The soldiers set up camp for the night in the old castle.

Isilya watches as her friends lay down to go to sleep. She wishes that Levi would let Isabel have her ring back so they could talk, but she knows it won't happen. So, with a sad smile on her face, she sits back in her chair and closes her eyes, falling asleep along with them.

Tomorrow they will continue with the expedition and continue with their plan to steal those documents. And Isilya will be there, whether Levi likes it or not, to offer what support she can.

* * *

Levi wants to scream. Instead, he focuses on reaching his friends. He struggles to see through the rain and he can barely hear through the crunching noises that seem to come from every direction. He urges his horse forwards, staring ahead at the silhouettes of his friends.

Suddenly, Levi is thrown forward into the mud. He glances back at his horse and stares at its broken ankle as it cries out, kicking around in the dirt. Levi curses and turns around, running towards his friends and the two larger silhouettes in the distance.

Shooting his hooks out towards the ground, the only thing he can see for sure, Levi attempts to speed up his approach. He needs to get to them. He needs to help them.

Screams. Loud cries of pain. The noise of bones breaking between large teeth. It's everywhere. The rain beats down on Levi's head. His bangs fall into his view. He lets out a roar to add to the chaotic choir as he watches two large hands reach out and grab Isabel.

A portal opens up in front of Levi. He instantly recognizes the familiar silver shimmer in the air. A closer view of Isabel in the titan's hands beings to form and Levi doesn't hesitate to fly through it.

"Levi-bro! 'silya!" Isabel cries out when she sees her two friends appear. Levi glances over his shoulder to see Isilya flying behind him, determination and worry in her eyes, as two portals close behind her. Isabel lets out a yelp as she struggles in the giant's grasp. Levi turns his attention back to the girl he has come to consider a younger sister.

Levi attaches his hooks to the titan's arm. He slices through one of its wrists as he flies by. Isilya attaches her hooks to the titan's other arm as the first one flails around in the air. She releases more gas to push herself forward, aiming for the wrist of the titan. At the same moment, Levi releases his hooks, firing them into the titan's jaw. They both fly towards the creature as it shoves Isabel's body into his mouth, legs first.

Isilya lets out an animalistic screech as she cuts the titan's hand off. Levi continues flying towards the monster, slicing the muscles in its cheek. They both release their hooks and turn around in the air. Isilya attaches her hooks to the giant's cheek as Levi attaches his own to the nape of its neck. They fly forward as fast as they can, watching in horror as Isabel's screaming stops and her head falls toward the ground. Isilya screams and Levi forces himself to fly faster, winding up into a spin as he cuts through the titan's neck.

Isilya kicks off of the titan's cheek to dive towards the ground, one arm outstretched, reaching towards what's left of Isabel. As Levi slices the neck of the titan, Isilya shoots out a hook behind her, feeling it catch on some part of the titan's body. Her fingers wrap around one of Isabel's pigtails. She tightens her hold and lets out some gas from her ODM gear, slowing her fall to the ground. Tucking Isabel into her arms, Isilya hits the ground, pushing herself into a roll to lessen the impact.

The titan body crashes to the ground beside Isilya. The steam from its decaying body rises into the air, adding to the fog and rain. Isilya cradles Isabel in her lap. She reaches out to push the girl's bangs out of her face. Levi lands on the back of the titan's head. He jumps off of it to land next to Isilya, staring at the severed head in her lap. He freezes as Isilya looks up at him. Tears stream down her face and mix with the rain. Her bottom lip quivers as she slowly rocks back and forth, cradling Isabel's head like a baby.

"Levi-" Isilya's voice cracks. Levi can't move as he feels his heart begin to break inside of his chest.

"Levi!" A deeper voice screeches from somewhere in the fog. Levi and Isilya make eye contact for a moment before Isilya looks back to Isabel, her grasp tightening. Then, she lets go for a moment, weaving her arms through the air sloppily. A few small portals appear. Most show muddy puddles or severed limbs. One displays a view of Furlan as he stumbles across the ground, using one of his blades like a crutch as he swings the other at the giant hand reaching out for him.

Isilya waves her arms again and a larger portal with the same image appears in front of her. Levi hesitates, staring at Isabel's head and Isilya's shaking hands. He looks around the small area he can see around them. The screams and crunching noises continue. It all sounds so close.

"Go." Isilya's voice is small as she stares at her friend in her lap. Levi's heart falls apart and then fades away as he forces himself to dive through the portal.

Levi pushes himself to go faster as he watches the giant hand grab Furlan. He lets out more gas and flies towards his friend.

Furlan looks up to see Levi coming towards him. He can barely see the shimmer of a portal behind Levi. A smile graces his lips. That means that two of them are alive still. They can still survive.

There are Furlan's last thoughts as he feels large teeth clamp down around his waist.

Levi watches as half of Furlan's body falls to the ground. He lets out a scream and attaches his hooks to the titan's shoulder as it reaches towards him. He uses his momentum to push himself off of the ground and spin around the titan's arm, slicing through every piece of skin he can reach. The titan lets out a wail as Levi continues to spin around its body, cutting through its legs, chest, back, and arms. After the creature's body is covered in cuts, as steam begins to rise from its regenerating wounds, Levi makes a deep slice through its nape.

Isilya stares blankly through the portal as Levi swings himself down to the ground. He hesitates, then walks back through the portal and falls to his knees in front of Isilya and Isabel. They both sit in silence as they look down at Isabel's open eyes. Steam rises off of both of their bodies as the titan blood begins to evaporate.

"I told you not to intervene," Levi states, glaring at Isilya.

"If they had their rings, I could've helped." Isilya moves her head up to look at him, her voice matching the exhausted look on her face.

"They didn't and you couldn't," Levi states coldly, "Now you're in danger, too. Get out of here." Levi maintains his cold expression as Isilya stares at him. The rain begins to lessen and the fog begins to clear as they watch one another, looking for the other to give in first. The sound of horse hooves beating against the ground grabs their attention.

"Levi-" Isilya sniffles, cautiously reaching out to him.

"You should go," Levi states, pointedly ignoring her hand as he stands up, facing towards the approaching group in the fog.

"You can't-" Isilya begins, but Levi interrupts her again.

"Go!" Levi looks back at Isilya, meeting her eyes. She stares up at him as more tears begin to form. She tightens her hold on Isabel, glancing through the still open portal towards Furlan's upper half, then back to Levi.

"Go," Levi whispers. Isilya reaches out and closes Isabel's eyes, carefully lifting her up and placing her on the ground. Levi's eyes follow the action. Isilya stands up and goes through the motions of creating a portal. The image of her lab in the Underground appears through it. She steps forward, then pauses. She turns towards Levi, who stares at her as if he couldn't care any less about what happens next. She steps towards him and wraps her arms around him, burying her head into his shoulder. Levi doesn't say anything. He doesn't move or respond at all. Isilya looks up to him, then drops her arms, slowly backing away from him. She waits for him to do or say anything. He doesn't. With a heavy heart, she steps up to the portal again.

A hand wraps around Isilya's wrist. She turns back to look at Levi. His eyes are focused on Isabel's head, but slowly he turns to look up at Isilya. He stares at the black cloak she wears, the one he had given her so long ago when they had first met. His eyes finally reach hers and as soon as they meet, he opens his mouth.

"I never want to see you again."


	19. The Angel and The Demon

Isilya breathes heavily as she leans against the trunk of a large tree. She stares down through the branches below her at the pile of titan bodies. Attaching a hook to the trunk of the tree and sheathing her blades, she lets out a sigh and lays down on the branch. She raises her hands above her head and stares at the metallic gloves. She fiddles with the ring on her finger, closing her eyes and shaking away the memories that threaten to overwhelm her. Opening her eyes again, she moves her arms through the air. One by one, small portals begin to open up above her body. She looks through all of them, then nods to herself when everything seems to be in place. She allows herself to fall asleep in the tree, the portals still hanging over her head.

During the expedition, Isilya had left through her portal and Levi had left with the Survey Corps. He had left Isabel's ring out in the battlefield. After two days of laying on her sleeping mat, unmoving, Isilya had decided to go get it. She'd given Isabel and Furlan proper burials outside the walls like they would've wanted.

Over time, Isilya has gained a reputation even though nobody knows her face or her name. She has refused to cut her hair, like Levi continuously told her to, so she always wears the cloak he gave to her. To the people of the walls, that is the only way they know her. They recognize that black cloak that always graces her figure. It keeps her identity hidden, so some people have created ghost stories about the cloaked stranger but the stories don't change the fact that most people are happy to see her.

Isilya uses her skills with the portals to travel around the different villages in the walls, doing everything she can to help people. With the portals allowing her to be almost anywhere at any time, she has been a symbol of kindness and hope for many. Some people even consider her something more than human. Some angel or magical creature. Some call her a hero, some call her a god. Stories are told everywhere about where she's been and what she's done. She has become a legend. After all, how could a human be helping a child in a small village in the western part of Wall Maria one afternoon and an elderly man in the eastern district of Karnes the same evening?

With Lillian's help, Isilya has set up small bases in different areas of the walls. Lillian has been gathering trinkets and miscellaneous jewelry for Isilya to sell. Things that are worth next to nothing in their world could be sold for a pretty price on this side of the portal. With the money from those objects, Isilya has set up a base in the Shinganshina district, one in a small village in the northern part of Wall Maria, one in both the Krolva district and Karnes district of Wall Rose, and a small house in Wall Sina. Most of these places had been abandoned or owned by people that Isilya had done favors for.

Many who have sought the cloaked hero's aid have been told they would be welcome to stay there if they ever get into trouble. If any of the people Isilya has helped end up at any of her bases, she will quickly make her way there to see what's wrong. She splits her time between doing everything she can to help others inside of the walls and taking out her anger and stress on the titans outside of the walls.

Two months after Furlan and Isabel had died, Isilya had sent a letter to Levi in the Survey Corps. After that, she would write to him every Saturday. It became a habit and she did it without fail. She would open a small portal on the wall by his bunk in the dormitory and slide the letters through. She would write to him about the people she's helped and about the little houses she has. She would often invite him to come over, even if it was just for a cup of tea. Levi had never responded to any of the letters.

* * *

Levi sits on his bed, leaning against the wall. He reads through the most recent letter from Isilya. He shakes his head as he rereads a paragraph for the third time. If her handwriting wasn't so nice then he wouldn't be so distracted. Everything about that woman is distracting and frustrating. That's what he tells himself as he finishes the letter. He folds it back up and stands up, lifting his mattress to add the letter to his large collection. He puts the mattress back down and heads to the kitchen.

Once Levi has made himself a cup of tea, he walks into the dining hall. Soldiers laugh and eat, sharing stories and cracking jokes. Levi walks by all of them and sits down at an empty table. He listens in on the surrounding conversations as he sips his drink.

"Did you hear about the Angel?" One voice grabs Levi's attention from somewhere behind him. He turns his head slightly to listen in on the conversation.

 _Angel_. That was one of the nicknames that the cloaked 'hero' had gained over the last few months. Judging off of what Levi's heard, he's sure that nobody else knows that it's Isilya. To everyone else she's a legend, a story to inspire hope and kind acts. Nobody seems to care anymore about figuring out how she is able to do what she does. They hang on too tightly to the idea of there being a higher power helping them.

Levi nearly rolls his eyes as he thinks about the reputation Isilya has gained. To him, she's still the messy, unorganized, intelligent yet idiotic woman who had basically lived with him in the Underground City.

"She's working with the Military Police, now!" The voice shouts. Levi furrows his brows as he listens.

"What? Those scumbags?" A second voice responds. "Hopefully they'll actually get something done with her by their side."

"I've heard she's already captured an entire gang that was stealing from villages in the eastern side of Wall Maria." A third voice adds into the conversation, causing the two to pause.

"My family's form that area. They said that group had been snatching horses and weapons, planning some sort of attack on the capital in Wall Sina, Mitras." The first voice cuts in. His words make the other two laugh.

"Maybe they were, but it wouldn't've worked, anyways." The second voice snorts.

"Maybe not, but at least Angel stopped them from hurting anyone else who got in their way. And she returned all of the horses and stolen stuff." The first voice sounds muffled at the end. Levi turns his head more to see the soldiers shoving food in their mouths.

Levi finishes his tea and stands up, going to wash his teacup. He thinks back to the letter Isilya had sent him this week. She hadn't mentioned anything about the Military Police. One thought circles around in his head as he cleans his cup and heads back to his room.

 _You're one of them, now, huh?_

* * *

"What- I… Who are you? Did the Military Police send you? Why?! " The man stumbles through his words and through the dark room as he runs away from the cloaked figure. The figure fades into the corner across the room as the man turns to run away. He passes through a doorway, but he finds himself back in the center of the room. He stares down at his feet, runs his hands through his dark hair, looks to where the figure had just been and tries again. The shadowed creature chuckles as the man attempts to escape the room for the second time. Then the third Then the fourth. Eventually, he falls to his knees on the ground. The figure comes up beside him and stares down at him.

"Who am I? That depends on what situation I end up in." The hooded figure tilts its head to the side. "As for the MPs, they sent me because I don't exist." The cloaked stranger's voice is flat and cold. The man turns to look up at the stranger but looks away when he's greeted by what seems to be only shadows under the hood.

"Is this hell?" The man asks. The figure lets out another low chuckle.

"I'm a good person." The man whispers into the air. He shakes as he sits on the floor.

"Terrible things can happen to good people. And I am a terrible thing." The figure states. The man looks up again to see a hint of a smirk on the stranger's lips but looks away once more when he can't see any other facial features under the hood. "Besides, I don't think you're being honest about being such a good person." The smirk grows. "And I have proof."

The man leans back on his hands and begins to back up as the figure follows after him, the black cloak flowing in the air as if being blown by the wind. The dark haired man shakes his head and blinks rapidly, mumbling incoherently.

"You can either tell me the full story about your trades with your buddies in the Underground, or I'll leave you in this room with no escape. You'll never trade with, talk to, or even see another person again." The figure stops a few feet away from the man once he reaches the wall. The man slowly looks up into the hooded and hidden face above him.

"You're the one they call _Demon_ , aren't you?" The man's shoulders slump as he lets out a breath. "I'll talk."

* * *

Isilya thought that her deal with the Military Police was adequate. About six months after she had left Levi and the Corps outside of the walls, she started working with them. She proved herself invaluable. The deal she had with them was that she would help them as long as she always worked on her own. That way, none of them would see how she was so fast or how she got so much of her information. None of them would see the portals or Isilya's face. In the time that she'd been working with them, she'd helped the MPs track down and catch a large amount criminals.

However, once Isilya realized that there were many criminals that the MPs didn't want to be caught, she knew that their deal couldn't go on. She had made some friends in the MPs who weren't as horrid and corrupted as the majority of them were, but it wasn't enough. She'd brought in a criminal, one that most of them didn't want behind bars, one too many times and now a surprisingly large amount of MPs wanted their cloaked helper silenced for good.

As Iszilya sits, tied up on a chair in a basement, she admits to herself that she can't work with the MPs any longer. The bruises and blood on her body spell out to her that she has to call off their deal. She had wanted to continue to help and do good for the majority of the people of the Walls, but it has become increasingly obvious that most of the MPs don't care about that.

Isilya thinks about the information she has, trying to figure out how she can get herself out of this mess. She had been kidnapped by a small group of MPs. They weren't wearing their uniforms but Isilya had portals all over the Walls, always listening and watching. She knows who they are and what they're doing. And that is exactly what they don't want.

So far, they've managed to keep her here for almost a full forty-eight hours. They ripped Levi's cloak off of her and beat her almost the entire two days. Many threats were thrown to her, but she never gave them any useful information.

Isilya's head snaps up as she hears the door to the basement room open. She recognizes the man from the small group of MPs. He's one of the more kind ones. Meaning he didn't hit her as hard or for as long. Isilya watches as he cracks his knuckles and his neck. She sits on the chair, unimpressed. Compared to what some of the other men had done, she knows that whatever this guy will do to her won't be as bad.

"You're really not into this." Isilya states, her voice hoarse. The man pauses and looks at her. He glances behind him at the door he had just come through and then back to Isilya.

"Shut up, girl." The man spits at her. "We'll keep doing this until you talk."

Isilya watches with a bored expression as the man approaches her. She doesn't flinch anymore when he raises his hand in the air.

"How do you travel around the walls so fast?" The man gives Isilya a second to answer. When met with silence, he pulls back his fist and punches her in the stomach. Isilya lets out a grunt. She hangs her head low and spits out blood at the man's feet.

"How is your hair that color?" The man grabs Isilya's hair in a firm grasp and uses it to pull her head up so she's facing him. She meets his eyes and remains silent. He glares down at her and slaps her. Isilya lets out a hiss as her cheek stings. That one had already been bruised.

"What are you?" The man continues to hold her hair. Pulling back his fist again, he punches her in the face. He drops her hair and leans in close as Isilya lets out a silent whimper. Blood falls into her lap from her lips. The man crouches down to her level.

"Come on. They have to be able to hear you from the other room." The man leans in closer, listening for Isilya to say anything.

Isilya takes her chance. She rears her head back and throws it forward, headbutting the man. He lets out a yelp and falls backward onto the concrete floor, knocking himself unconscious. Isilya stares down at him, disappointed but not surprised. With a sigh, she slips off one of her shoes. She slouches in the chair as she uses her toes to pull the man's knife from his belt. She glances towards the door, listening to make sure nobody else is coming in. Usually, they have one of them come in at a time for at least half an hour.

With that in mind, Isilya carefully and slowly works on cutting through the many ropes tied around her body. She drops the knife a few times and makes sure to let out some small screams and whimpers to make sure whoever is in the other room doesn't question anything.

Eventually, Isilya stands up from the chair. Her eyes widen as she begins to fall. She grasps onto the back of the chair and blinks rapidly, holding onto her head as the world spins around her. She lets out a breath and walks across the room to the table with her gloves on it. The MPs hadn't been able to figure out what they were, and couldn't get them to work without her ring, so they tossed them to the side.

Isilya snatches up her metallic gloves and connects a portal to the wedding ring on the unconscious guard. She opens a portal to her home in Shiganshina, wanting to be as far away from Sina as possible for a while. After being beaten for so long and not having any food, drink, or any real rest, she passes out on a small couch in the house. She sleeps for a full day.

The next day, after recovering somewhat, Isilya uses her portals and takes the whole day to figure out who all had kidnapped her and what illegal activity they were most connected with. Being so focused on putting those MPs behind bars, she doesn't realize that she'd been kidnapped on a Friday night, meaning that she hadn't written her weekly letter to Levi.

In the few days that Isilya was gone, news had spread across all of the walls that nobody had seen the cloaked hero. The news eventually reached the Survey Corps.

Levi had tried to brush off the bad feeling he got when he went into his dorm on Saturday night and there was no letter on the bed. He hoped that maybe Isilya had finally stopped caring about him. He wished a safe life for her. He wished that she wasn't stuck in this world, even though she claims in her letters that she doesn't know if she would go back to her homeworld if that was an option. It pained him to think that she had finally given up on him, but that was what he wanted, wasn't it? People who got close to him got hurt. She doesn't deserve that.

Levi hadn't realized how much he relied on receiving the weekly letters, even if he never responded. On Monday, after sleeping even less than usual as he thought about Isilya and the rumors going around, he took it in his own hands to find out what was happening.

* * *

Isilya had put together a solid case against the MPs who kidnapped her, for more than just her kidnapping, by the end of the day. As she went to talk to their commanding officer, she heard that they had all been murdered earlier that evening. Isilya left a letter to the commander of the Military Police, stating that she would no longer be helping them, and she included a list of particularly bad members of the MPs, being sure to leave out those she knew were connected to the commander. Without speaking to anybody about what had happened, Isilya left to visit her home in Krolva.

Isilya burned the files she had come up with about the men who had kidnapped her and, as exhausted as she was, she couldn't sleep that night. She stayed up, thinking about the person she was sure had done this for her. Ironically, elsewhere in the walls, Levi sleeps more peacefully than he has in months.

The following Saturday, Isilya's letter doesn't mention anything about what had happened to her. She doesn't tell Levi about how it happened or what her plan was. She doesn't tell him about the kids she had rescued from an abusive household that week or the entire village she had helped cook a feast for. Instead, her letter that week is only two words. _Thank you._


	20. Legends

A few weeks later, Isilya visits her home in Shiganshina. She checks her portals of the area and sees four young kids bullying a smaller blond child in an alleyway. He has a few bruises already. Isilya scans the area and creates a portal down the street from them and after making sure that nobody else is around, she steps through.

"I said to shut your mouth, you crazy freak!" The leader of the group yells, causing the other three to cheer him on. He grabs the blond by the collar of his shirt and pulls his own arm back for a punch. Before he can move, Isilya is by his side. She crouches down to his level and grabs his arm in a single, fluid movement. The boy looks at her in surprise. He can't see her face but he doesn't need to. The cloak is recognizable. It's the cloak that parents tell their children about before bed. They tell their kids stories of the hero who travels around the human world. She is kind and caring to those who deserve it but cold and unforgiving to people who have wronged others. These kids have heard many stories of the criminals that this hero has put behind bars.

The other three kids all make noises of surprise and step away from their victim and the leader of their group, putting on their most innocent faces. Isilya focuses on the kid in front of her.

"You're not being very nice." Her voice displays disappointment as she states this. She maintains a firm grip on the kid's arm, not enough to hurt him. She glances back at the other children.

"Do you have something to say to him?" Isilya nods towards the blond child who is frozen to his spot against the wall of the alley. The four bullies all speak over one another, apologizing profusely. Isilya rolls her eyes to herself. She doesn't believe a word of it. She lets go of the child's arm and he backs up to stand with his friends. They look like they want to run, but mostly they look ashamed at being caught, especially by someone that they consider a hero.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Isilya turns slightly to look at the boy huddled against the wall. The blond child looks at Isilya and blinks. He stays silent for a few seconds, still not believing that he's being saved by her of all people.

"Armin." His voice is quiet and it reveals how nervous he is, but Isilya tilts her head up enough so he can see her smile at him. The other children are further away from her and aren't able to see anything. The fact that he's getting to see a part of her face, something that very few have ever seen, causes Armin to relax enough that he smiles back. Isilya's smile widens and she stands up to looks down at the group of bullies in front of her, the hood shadowing her entire face.

"From this day on, Armin is under my protection. However, I expect that he won't need it because you won't bully him again. And because you're good and kind people. Am I correct?" Her voice isn't angry or cold, instead, it is full of warmth and kindness. The small group doesn't feel like they're being lectured. Instead, they feel like they've just been bestowed a gift. Their hero is standing in front of them, telling them that they are good and kind and there's no way she could be wrong. If she says that they're those things, then they have to be.

Suddenly, they are all overwhelmed with guilt. They apologize to Armin again, in a much more sincere way. The leader of the four tells Armin that he can believe whatever he wants and they'll leave him alone from now on. Isilya nods at them. They turn and run down the alleyway, nudging each other and smiling as they leave, talking about how they'll tell the other kids in town that they got to see the Angel in person.

Isilya looks down at the small child in front of her. There's a bruise forming on his cheek and he's holding his stomach like he's been kicked there.

"Let's fix you up." Isilya smiles down at him. She offers him her hand. Carefully, Armin places his hand in hers, allowing her to guide him to a building a few streets away from where they are.

"Why were they bullying you?" Isilya asks as she lifts the child up onto a counter in the small kitchen of the small house. Armin shifts uncomfortably as Isilya runs a damp rag over his stomach, wiping off the dirt and blood.

"It's okay. You can tell me." Isilya smiles at him from under her hood. Armin instantly believes her. He believes that she will agree with him about what he has to say. From the stories and rumors he's heard about her and the kind things his parents have said about the cloaked hero, Armin is sure that she'll be on his side. Just knowing that she's here and that she's real makes him believe that everything will be okay.

"I said that humanity doesn't belong inside these walls. This world doesn't belong to the titans," Armin speaks up with less hesitation. This causes Isilya to pause her job of wiping the dirt off of Armin's cheek. She resumes her work with a smile on her face.

"You're right," Isilya responds calmly.

That evening, Isilya tells Armin that she's been outside of the walls. She tells him that while there are many titans, it is still beautiful. Armin swears that he'll see it one day and Isilya smiles at him, ruffling his hair. She agrees with him, saying that she knows he will see it, too.

* * *

Over the next few months, Isilya makes time to visit Armin when she can. She finds that he is one of the most intelligent and curious children she's ever met. Also brave, in his own way. He reminds her of Charlie. The day Isilya realized that had been difficult for her. The comparison of the two children had reminded her of the similarities and differences between this world and the one that she came from. It made her think of home.

Every minute that Isilya gets to spend with Armin makes her feel better. It makes her feel normal. Isilya fondly recalls when Armin had managed to trick her into showing him her face. He had laughed at his victory and then gasped as he grabbed her hair, staring at its color. Thankfully, nobody else had seen her. Armin had promised to never tell anyone about what he'd seen, saying that he knew nobody would believe him anyway. He was disappointed when Isilya wouldn't tell him why or how her hair was that color, or confirm or deny any of the rumors about who she was or wasn't. But Isilya enjoyed listening to his theories and ideas whenever he'd come up with new ones.

* * *

Armin lets out a sigh, again, as his friend nudges him with his elbow and laughs at him. On his other side, a different friend pats his shoulder, smiling a small and empathetic smile.

"Eren, I'm serious!" Armin pouts, earning another laugh from Eren.

"Mikasa, you believe me, don't you?" Armin turns to his other friend, eyes wide and hopeful. Mikasa stares down at him, glances over to Eren, then back to Armin. She shrugs.

"I don't know if I even believe that she's real in the first place," Mikasa admits. Eren stops laughing to glare at her.

"Hey, I may not believe that Armin is friends with _the Angel_ but I do believe that she's real!" Eren huffs. Mikasa stares at him with no emotion on her face. Armin glances between the two of them, nodding as he comes to a decision.

"I can prove you both wrong. She is real and I do know her." Armin states. The two other kids turn to look at him. He meets their gazes and lets out a breath.

"I promised her that I wouldn't tell anyone about what I know, but maybe she'll be willing to meet you, at least." Armin gets up and walks away from his friends. He turns back with a smile.

"Are you coming?" Armin turns around again and keeps walking. Eren and Mikasa send one another skeptical looks, but they follow after their friend. They walk down a few streets before Armin stops.

"Before I see if she's home, what do you think of her from what you've heard?" Armin questions, hoping that when he introduces his friends to his hero that they'll get along. He's sure that the Angel will be nice to his friends, but he isn't so sure about them being kind to her. Mikasa, specifically. Armin stares at Mikasa as she seems to realize his worries.

"She's, well she's-" Mikasa starts, but Eren excitedly cuts her off.

"Awesome, talented, heroic, amazing, smart-" Eren begins to list off the things he admires about the cloaked hero, but Mikasa returns the favor and cuts him off.

"I was going to say dangerous. If she's real." Mikasa states. The two boys turn to look at her. The confused looks on their faces prompt her to continue.

"The rumors make it seem like she can be anywhere at any time and she knows more than the average person, sometimes even about their own lives. I would never trust anybody with that kind of power or information." Mikasa explains. She looks up to see Armin's disappointed face and lets out a sigh.

"But, if she is real and she did save you from those bullies, then I'd like to..." Mikasa looks to the side, "I'd like to thank her." Mikasa meets Armin's eyes again and he smiles widely at her.

"Wait here. I'll be right back!"

* * *

Isilya sits in one of the large trees outside of the Walls. A few titans scratch at the truck of the tree, but Isilya pays them no mind as she eats her lunch. She stares up at the sky and imagines that she's back home in Los Angeles. She finishes her food and leans against the tree as she tries to figure out what her conflicting emotions are saying.

One on hand, she'd love to be able to go back to her world. On the other, people are relying on her here. Could she ever go back to her world, knowing what she knows about this one? Could she leave the entire population of this place by themselves to deal with the titans without the technology she has? She could hand it off to someone else, but who can say they wouldn't misuse it like the creator of it did? Isilya shakes her head of these thoughts. They don't matter. Either way, she can't get back to her world. Not now. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Isilya turns her attention the portals in the air in front of her as she hears a noise coming from one of them. She checks them all individually before finding the one with the sounds coming through it. Someone is knocking. Isilya looks through the portal. It's her house in Shaganshina. Standing up, she brushes off some crumbs from her pants and flips her hood over her head. She closes all of the small portals and opens one to the living room of the house. She peeks through it, seeing that nobody is there, then she steps through.

"Are you there?" A voice questions as it continues to knock on the old door. Isilya opens a small portal and peeks through it to look at whoever is on the other side of the door. She smiles when she sees Armin. Closing all of her portals, she opens the door for him. He pauses with his fist in the air. A smile grows on his face.

"Hey, Angel!" Armin shouts excitedly. Isilya internally cringes at the nickname that has become common. If only people knew what she had done to survive when she first arrived in this world. Nobody would call her an Angel if they found out. Isilya hides her inner conflict with a smile.

"Armin. Here to read more of my books?" Isilya steps to the side to offer him in. She's gathered a small collection of books, which Armin would spend time going through whenever he got the chance. To her surprise, Armin shakes his head.

"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to meet my two best friends," Armin mutters shyly. Isilya freezes. Her hand remains on the doorknob as she stares down at the child.

"You can keep your hood on! I mean, that's your choice. Of course. I just..." Armin stares at his feet as he shuffles them. Isilya blinks and puts her hand on Armin's shoulder. He slowly looks up at her.

"I'd love to meet them." Isilya shifts her head enough so Armin can see her smile. He returns the gesture and grabs her hand, dragging her down the street. Isilya barely has time to close the door as she allows herself to be pulled from her house. As he pulls her along, she waves a hand in front of her face, creating a small portal attached to her hood. As long as the hood stays on, if anyone looks up at her face they will only see through the portal into a pitch black room. Isilya had started doing this after one too many close calls of people attempting to snatch her hood off of her to reveal who the legend really is. Armin had already found out and Isilya had decided she didn't need anyone else to know. And in Armin's case, he still didn't know her name or anything else, anyway.

Armin leads the cloaked figure down a few streets and turns a corner. Isilya allows herself to smirk at the looks of disbelief on the two children's faces as they watch their friend guide her towards them. When Armin stops in front of them, a large smile appears on his face. Eren and Mikasa know exactly what that smiles means. _I told you so._

"Hello. You must be Mikasa and Eren." Isilya states, her voice calm and sweet. The two children continue to stare up at her, dumbfounded looks on their faces. Armin looks up at her as well, realizing he had never told her the names of his friends before.

"Do I have something on my face?" Isilya teases, knowing that even if they tried to look under her hood, they wouldn't be able to see anything. Eren and Mikasa both lean forward, mouths still agape as they attempt to look at her. She remains in place, smiling to herself as their eyes widen.

"No," Eren mumbles. "Because you don't have a face." He trails off, more amazed than scared. Mikasa returns to her usual calm self and sends a small glare to the cloaked stranger, skeptical.

"Of course I have a face," Isilya lets out a laugh, "I just don't want anyone to see it." The two children stare at her as she laughs. She seems so human, though there's no way a human could do what she does. Once she stops laughing, Mikasa steps forward.

"Is it true that you protected Armin from those bullies?" Mikasa questions, straight to the point. Isilya stares down at the determined girl. She admires the protective glint in the child's eyes. It reminds her of herself.

"That is true." Isilya nods, smiling though none of them can see it. Mikasa remains silent for a small amount of time, then nods as she comes to a conclusion.

"Then, in that case, thank you," Mikasa states bluntly. Isilya nods at her again, opening her mouth to respond but getting cut off by the other child.

Eren jumps up and down as he throws question after question at somebody he considers a legend. Isilya handles them all with ease. She is able to deflect all of his questions in the same way that she's done with Armin, who stands by her side watching in amusement, knowing that Eren will never be able to get any information out of her.

After a while, Eren runs out of questions. He pouts at the lack of answers he's received. Isilya laughs at his face and ruffles his hair. He shakes his head and pats his hair back down, sending a glare to where Isilya's face should be. Mikasa watches with amusement in her eyes.

"Follow me," Isilya states, turning and walking back to her house. She shows the two children where it is and instructs them to knock on her door if they ever need help. It may take her some time to get there, but she will get there when she is able and do what she can to help. Armin smiles, full of pride when Isilya hugs him goodbye for the time being. He beams at his friends as they walk back towards their houses.

* * *

Isilya sits in her base in wall Sina. She stares through multiple different portals, watching as the Survey Corps trudges back into Wall Maria. The commander, Keith Shadis, leads the small group. Isilya's eyes widen as the gate begins to close behind them. There must be less than twenty-five soldiers. They had left the walls that morning with so many more. Isilya is sure there were at least a hundred.

Most of the group that has returned are injured in some way. Isilya's eyes dart through the Scouts as she sends a silent prayer to whatever higher being had created the walls. Isilya has enjoyed many conversations with Armin about the different theories about how the walls were built. But now is not the time to think about that.

A soldier with a blank expression catches Isilya's eyes. Most of the others around him have broken and tired looks on their faces but this one seems as though he couldn't care any less about the world around him. Isilya opens a portal closer to him. She lets out a sigh of relief when she's able to confirm that it's Levi. With a closer look, she can see the pain in his eyes and worry in his tense shoulders.

Isilya raises her arms to create a portal on his shoulder. She wants to comfort him, tell him that none of this is his fault, though he would never believe her. She pauses as the portal begins to form. It slowly fades away as the last words Levi had ever said to her play through her head. _I never want to see you again._

Isilya furrows her brows. She knows that Levi had said that, but surely he was the one who had taken out those MPs for her a few months back. Isilya thinks about a loophole around his words. He had never seen her while he took care of those corrupted men. Technically, he wouldn't see her, either, if she were to talk to him through a portal. Isilya considers her options for a minute, then lowers her arms as a woman rushes out from the crowd. The remains of the Scouts pause as she addresses Commander Shadis.

The Commander presents the woman with an arm, the only body part they were able to save of her son. Isilya pushes her chair away from the table she sits at, eyes never leaving the sight of the disembodied arm being passed to the crying woman.

Images of Isabel's head and Furlan's torso flash in Isilya's head. Her breathing grows ragged as she scrambles out of her chair, continuing to back away from the portals. The images displayed in them seem to move with her, haunting her as she tries to escape. She can't look away. The woman holds the arm to her chest, sobbing. The bloodied cloth around the limb falls to the ground. More images rush to Isilya's mind.

Her little sister's pale face in her tiny coffin, with her brother's closed coffin next to it.

Lillian wiping off blood from Isilya's legs and thanking her for standing up to Zak, again.

Charlie crying in the corner of the basement room while Isilya stitches his arm, whispering comforting words to him as tears form in her own eyes.

One of the younger girls holding onto her friend as they weep together, one of the guards standing over them with a knife.

Zak's devilish grin as he stares down at Isilya, beginning to laugh as she tries to squirm away from him.

Blood dripping from her own mouth onto her legs as a member of the Military Police punches her and hits her with objects in the stomach over and over again.

Isilya trips over her own feet and falls against the wall. She claws at her chest and throat, trying to force herself to breathe properly. The images continue to play on repeat in her mind as she watches the Survey Corps continue to move down the road. Isilya throws her hands out into the air, rapidly closing the portals and curling into a ball. She digs her nails into her head, begging for the memories to leave her. A scream climbs its way out of her throat as she falls over onto the floor. She stays there for the rest of the night.

* * *

Isilya watches as the blond soldier who had captured Levi steps up onto a small stage. Erwin Smith. He shakes Keith Shadis's hand and says a few words. Her brows furrow as she stares past them at the smaller figure hidden in the shadows. Levi.

Isilya watches as Keith hands over the title of Commander to Erwin. Erwin says a few more words and motions for Levi to come forward. He promotes Levi and names him as the Squad Leader of a special operations squad. Isilya furrows her brows as Levi steps up and salutes to Erwin. Anger grows inside of Isilya. She remembers the way Erwin had cornered Levi in the Underground city before he had taken him away from her. Not for the first time, Isilya wishes she could punch Erwin in the face. She restrains herself, opting to open a portal a few streets away, where it seems less crowded, and walks to the area where the announcement is being made. She watches the ceremony silently, her hood covering her face from the crowd around her.

Erwin tells the crowd about the honor he feels for taking the role of Commander. He also directly addresses the recent struggles the Corps has been facing and attempts to reassure the crowd that the lives that have been lost will be avenged and that the sacrifices that have been made will be worth it.

Isilya silently admits that Erwin has a strangely inspirational way with words. He had basically admitted to the world that many more people would die and that the Survey Corps would constantly be in danger and producing wavering results. Yet, in the midst of that depressing information, he had obviously created hope in some of the hearts of some crowd members. Isilya shakes her head at the small amount of respect she begins to feel for Erwin. She tries to ignore it and turns to leave the area.

Levi's eyes wander through the audience. A black cloak moving gracefully and skillfully through the crowd catches his attention. He narrows his eyes as he watches how the stranger walks. They're so graceful. After a moment, he looks away and decides he must be wrong. He thinks he sees Isilya everywhere, all of the time. It's never her. He always wishes that it could be, but it never is.


	21. The Fall of Shiganshina

Isilya sits with a small family in the Underground, splitting bread and cheese with them. They devour the small amount she is able to offer and cry as they thank her. She hugs one of the children back when he throws his arms around her, explaining to the parents that she only wishes she could do more. They shake their heads at her, telling her that what she's done means a lot to them. She smiles and leaves them with a second loaf of bread, heading back to her base on the other side of the city.

When Isilya gets to her base, she immediately opens up her portals to check in on the different districts within the walls. Karnes is fine, so is Calaneth. The northern villages of Wall Maria seem okay and of course, the people in Sina are doing more than fine compared to elsewhere. Isilya rolls her eyes as she thinks about the nobles in Mitras. She allows those thoughts to leave her mind as she opens a portal in Shiganshina. Her eyes widen at the sight that greets her.

A stampede. That's the only way to describe the way people rush down the street, pushing through others and screaming in fear. Isilya opens a portal in the direction people are running from. She stares through it at the giant titan head that peeks over the wall. Isilya manages to tear her gaze away from the titan long enough to notice the giant hole where there used to be a gate separating the outside of the Wall from the inside.

A string of curse words falls from Isilya's mouth as her breathing speeds up. She squishes her head between her palms and forces herself to breath normally. Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to help people. Now is the time where people will need her more than ever before.

Isilya rushes to her lab and puts on her ODM gear in record time. She opens a small portal in her house in Shiganshina. When she sees that half of it has been destroyed, she closes the peephole of a portal and opens a larger one in the basement. Stepping through, she hears screaming and crying from every direction. She quickly runs upstairs and blanches at the number of titans in the town, the size of the hole in the Wall, and the many families struggling to fight their way out of the rubble and toward the boats that will take them to safety.

Isilya opens a small portal by her wrist. Peering through, she can see a lot of the boats are already full. With a string of curse words, she leaps into action. She shoots out her hooks into the taller house next to her own, flying through the place where her ceiling used to be. She decides to focus on killing as many titans as possible before they reach any people trying to make their way to the boats.

* * *

The Garrison does their best. Isilya sees far too many of them fall. It's a massacre. She shakes her head and reminds herself to focus. She thinks of the number of titans that she's killed outside of the walls. But now, she knows that it's different. Out there, nobody else is in danger. Here, an entire district could be devoured.

Isilya attaches her hooks to the shoulder of a 5-meter titan as it passes and slices its neck in one flowing movement. She stays attached to its body as it falls. When it lands, she slides off of the neck.

"Fifty-two" Isilya mumbles to herself.

"Is that you, Angel?" Isilya turns towards the small voice that just spoke. A young boy with a blond bowl cut and tears on his cheeks peers up at her as he wipes his face. She recognizes him.

"Armin, where are your parents. Or your Grandpa?" She asks, taking him by the hand and beginning to run, leading him to the boats. He doesn't answer. Isilya looks at him as they run. He doesn't even seem to have heard her.

On their way to the boats, an 8-meter titan stands up from where it was crouched behind a building. Isilya shoves Armin into the doorway of a house as she passes it and keeps running. She attaches one hook to a building behind the titan and flies right by its face, turning around quickly and spinning as she slices its neck, gracefully descending to the ground. She holds her blades the way that Levi had taught her. She wonders where he is right now. She sends a short and silent prayer to whatever higher being could be listening, begging them to make sure he's safe. Her anxiety begins to rise, but she shakes her head and reminds herself that now is not the time to be thinking about that. She needs to focus.

"Fifty-three" Isilya mumbles as she sheaths one blade and grabs Armin's hand again, running towards the boats. He is breathing heavily, eyes open wide. He begins to stumble over his own feet and eventually falls.

"Armin, we have to keep going," Isilya states, glancing at all of the titans she can see moving around the town. The child shakes as he tries to stand back up. Isilya pulls her cloak down.

"If we make it to the boats and see each other again in the future, I'll tell you my name." She states, trying to get him to focus on anything besides the situation they've found themselves in.

"You'll tell me your name…" Armin repeats her words, looking up at her. When he realizes that she's shown him her face again, he blinks, able to focus. Armin loves mysteries, and the mystery of Humanity's Angel is one that he has yet to solve. Isilya squeezes his hand, nodding when she sees the haze leave his eyes. She helps him stand up and they begin to run again.

Once they get near the water, Isilya shoves Armin through the crowd. She watches as he runs towards two other kids that a Garrison soldier had just shoved onto the boat. She lets out a shaky smile when she realizes that those two kids are Mikasa and Eren. Now that she knows those three are safer, she turns and runs back into the town, using her hooks as soon as there aren't any people in the way.

A 16-meter titan comes strolling around the corner to her right, causing Isilya to curse under her breath. She looks to her left and sees a 9-meter titan approaching. She lets out a sign and faces the two titans looming over her. "Care to dance, uglies?"

* * *

Isilya has slowly made her way back towards the inner wall of Maria. She had been able to make her way deeper into the center of the district for a while, but most of the people have made their way to the boats, so Isilya follows the titan as they follow their source of food. Isilya does her best to kill any titans that get within a few streets of the ships. But no matter what, more and more keep coming.

As Isilya slices the nape of a 10-meter titan, she hears crying in an alleyway near her.

"Sixty-three" Isilya mutters as she flies down into the alley. A young garrison soldier is carrying two small children in his arms. A woman who seems to be their mother has one arm around the soldier and another wrapped around a baby bundled in cloth. She limps by his side, trying to calm the children. The soldier freezes when he sees Isilya standing there with her cloak.

"It…it's you." The soldier states, though it sounds like a question. Isilya doesn't recognize him, but she nods. She grabs the two children from the man and tells him to pick up the woman. He snaps out of his amazement does as instructed as they run to the boats.

Isilya and the soldier are able to hand off the three kids to some people on one of the ships as it starts to drift away. The mother stays on land, crying, causing the children to cry harder.

Isilya clenches her teeth together as the mother falls to her knees. She wishes she had something to say that would help. Instead, she just places her hand on the woman's shoulder and points back to her children on the boat. The woman looks back up from her hands and sees her oldest child rocking the baby in his arms. The woman begins to cry more, but now with a small, sad smile on her face.

"Thank you." The woman mutters. Isilya barely hears her in-between her tears and the noise of the crowd. Isilya squeezes the woman's shoulder and turns to head back into the war zone.

A few of the Garrison soldiers by the gate begin to argue, catching Isilya's attention. Some of them demand that they close the gate before the titans can get through it into Wall Maria. Others argue that they can't leave people stuck here. Isilya watches as the gate begins to close.

"Wait." Isilya mumbles. Nobody hears her but herself. She stares at the titans flooding the town and then at the large group of people throwing themselves at the side of the boat, trying to hang onto it for the sake of their lives. The soldiers continue to argue. The civilians continue to scream and cry. Isilya stands frozen, unsure of which side she should be on. Save who they can and protect the majority inside of Wall Rose, or risk all of those lives to try and save everyone?

Before Isilya has time to decide, the soldiers begin to shout louder. Some of them point down the street and begin firing their canons. Isilya turns to see a strong-built titan running towards the Wall. The soldiers scream when their weapons don't seem to slow it down at all. Isilya's eyes widen as the titan slams it's shoulder into the gate that was almost closed. Pieces of the stone gate go flying through the air.

The screaming of more people makes Isilya spring back into action. Now, the choice of who to save doesn't matter. All that matters is doing what she can. And right now, she believes that the only thing she can do is kill as many titans as possible to hold off the attack as people make their way into Wall Rose.

* * *

Eventually, Isilya finds herself surrounded. Six titans close in around her from all sides. She takes a breath and darts above the slowest one and slices its nape. Continuing in the direction of her momentum, she swings through and under another's legs, slicing at its ankles until it falls forward. It claws at the buildings around it as it falls, landing on top of a smaller titan. As she glances at it for no more than a second, trying to decide if it's going to be able to move from under the other or not, a hand reaches out for her. She lets out a small grunt and shoots out a hook behind her, letting it pull her away from the hand. As the titan continues to reach for her, she shoots another hook into its shoulder and releases the one behind her. She cuts her way up its arm and makes quick work of its neck. As the titan falls, she attaches a hook to the nape of the one that was struggling to get up with its cut ankles. She finishes it off and jumps off of it's back, landing on the head of the titan under it.

"Hey, little monster," Isilya starts, raising her blades. "Goodbye, little monster." She finishes as she cuts clean through its nape. The two that are left reach out for her at the same time. She uses her gear to pull herself out of the way and watches as their hands slam into each other.

"How romantic." Isilya rolls her eyes, going to take out the knees of the faster one. As she does, another titan leaps out from behind a building on all fours, jaw wide open for her. Isilya quickly changes directions and watches as the quadrupedal titan bites the leg of the other one. It screeches but keeps its attention on Isilya, limping towards her. As she turns to make sure the slower titan is still where she thinks it is, the quadrupedal titan pushes the titan it had bit down to the ground, using it's back as a ramp as it falls, and jumps at her in the air. At the same time, the slower, larger titan reaches out for her. The quadrupedal titan gets in the way of its hand. Isilya's eyes widen as the smaller titan is hit in her direction. She shoots out a hook but can't avoid it in time. It's whole body slams into her and she goes flying.

Isilya crashes through the halfway destroyed roof of a house and lands on the stairs. She cries out as she rolls down, shooting out a hook in an attempt to stop herself. Her hook catches on the railing and Isilya's body comes to a stop. She tries to stand up, but lets out a cry of pain and slumps back onto the stairs. A shadow falls over her. When she looks up, the larger titan's head is coming into view. Behind it somewhere, she hears the roar of another titan. Cursing herself and most of this world, she weakly lifts her hands and creates a portal on the steps beneath her.

"Seventy-one" Isilya whispers as she rolls into the portal and onto Levi's bed in his old house in the Underground, closing the portal behind her and passing out from the pain. The screams of the people left behind in Shiganshina haunt her dreams.


	22. Reunion

Isilya has to spend longer than she'd like at her base in the Underground, healing after the battle in Shiganshina. After she's well enough to move around, she spends much time traveling around Wall Rose, doing everything she can to help whoever needs it. Sadly, almost everyone needs help.

All of the survivors from Wall Maria had retreated into Wall Rose. Food had quickly become scarce and riots had begun to break out after a short amount of time. Isilya had begun to use all of the money Lillian leaves for her to get food to feed who she can.

Not that long after the loss of Wall Maria the king and the nobles had a brilliant idea, so they said, to reclaim their territory from the titans. They decided that 20% of humanity would be sent beyond the wall, ignoring the fact that most of those people were not trained soldiers. Isilya had helped where she could, killing as many titans as she was able to reach. Still, humanity lost that 20% in a very short amount of time.

Isilya stayed inside of Wall Maria for two weeks after that, taking out her anger and guilt on the titans. Because of that, some people began to question where Humanity's Angel was. Most feared that she was sent out with the rest of the large group into Wall Maria and that she died at the hands of a titan. Some had decided that she was, somehow, just a human. A human who had to follow the orders of the Royal Government, just like the rest of them.

* * *

Levi sits in his office doing paperwork. He runs his hands through his hair and goes to get more tea. While in the kitchen, he hears cheering coming from the dining hall. He raises a brow at the noise. Nobody has made such loud, happy sounds since long before the makeshift expedition the King had ordered, at least. He walks into the room to see what's going on.

"Humanity's Angel has survived! We thought she was dead but she's alive!" One voice shouts, holding up one of the newspapers from town. The crowd continues to cheer, hope returning to their hearts. Levi watches with a bored expression as people talk about how great the cloaked hero is.

"Maybe she did die, but she's risen again!" One voice adds to the noise.

"It's a miracle!" Another voice cries out. Levi rolls his eyes and walks through the dining hall, wanting to get away from the noise and the memories of Isilya. Before he can make it to the door, Hanji Zoe, a squad leader and titan enthusiast, stops him.

"Hey, Captain Shorty!" Did you hear about everyone's favorite Angel?"

"Tch."

"I thought you'd be happy. After all, there are rumors that you and the Angel somehow knew one another when you lived in the Underground." Hanji stares down at Levi with wide eyes. Levi glares at the squad leader but doesn't respond.

"You just might be the only one who knows her true identity!" Hanji squeals. The look she gets when new questions about titans arise is the same look that now rests on her face.

Levi realizes this is her way of asking him to give her information. He simply walks around her and heads back to his office, neither confirming or denying any answers he may have. Hanji watches him go with a gleam in her eyes.

* * *

Isilya smiles when she hears that Armin has been asking around for people who have seen 'the Angel' recently. She realizes that she has been so busy that she hasn't talked to him since Wall Maria fell. It's been almost a full year. Of course, she had kept tabs on him, helping him from the shadows, but she hadn't made time to talk to him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realizes that she has been scared to face him. She's ashamed. Especially after what happened to his family.

Isilya opens a portal outside of the dormitories after all of the cadets are in bed. She opens a smaller portal inside of the dorm and whispers through it into Armin's ear. He recognizes her voice and sits up, looking around the room with furrowed brows as he rubs his eyes. He doesn't see her anywhere so he slips out of bed and walks outside, looking around more. Isilya closes the portals and steps around the corner. She lowers the black hood from her head as Armin turns to face her, relief in his expression.

"Angel." Armin lets out a breath, "I thought you might've-"

"Isilya."

"What?" Armin stifles a yawn.

"I told you that if you survived and we saw one another again then I'd tell you my name."

"Isilya." Armin repeats her name, smiling as he sticks his hand out. Isilya laughs at him and clasps his hand in her own, using it to bring him into a hug. He wraps his arms around her in return, a smile on his face as he burrows into her shoulder like he used to.

"You were about to say that you thought I'd died." Isilya mumbles. Armin's face flushes.

"Nobody had heard anything about you for a while after all of those people were sent outside of the walls. And there have been fewer and fewer people talking about you, again, recently, so I..." Armin trails off, not sure what else to say.

"Don't ever doubt me again." Isilya says, stepping back to hold Armin out at arm's length, a smirk on her face. Armin laughs and nods in understanding. Isilya's smirk falls as a serious expression comes to rest on her face. She lowers her arms from Armin's shoulders.

"Armin, I'm proud that you decided to become a cadet," Isilya states, "But I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help your family. I heard that they passed." Isilya stares at the horizon behind Armin, not able to look him in the eyes. She had promised to always help him, but she hadn't been able to do anything for his parents.

"It's not your fault. It's the royal government's fault for their _Wall Maria Reclamation Expedition_." Armin shakes his head in disappointment and anger as he spits out the words, a cold look in his eyes as he thinks about the culling the government had performed. Isilya furrows her brow.

"What?" Isilya blinks, meeting Armin's confused gaze. "I was outside of the Walls with that group. There were many people, of course, but I never saw your parents." Isilya and Armin stare at one another, many questions floating around in their heads. They remain silent for a while, trying to figure out what could've really happened.

"Go back inside and get some sleep. Tell Mikasa and Eren I said hello and I'm proud of them as well. I'll see you three around." Isilya places a hand on Armin's shoulder and squeezes it, then she walks around him.

Armin moves to walk back into the dorm but then turns to say something else to Isilya.

"When-" He stops talking as he looks around. Isilya is already gone.

* * *

Isilya shakes her head as she chuckles. Her legs are propped up on the desk in front of her and there are rows of portals on the wall. She lazily picks at the food on her plate as she stares through one of the portals. On the other side, Eren finishes up another fight with a fellow cadet. Isilya watches the form and strategy of both of them. She can tell that Eren will be near the top of the class when it comes to hand to hand combat. He still has pent up anger that he needs to learn to control but the drive that it has given him has certainly helped his combat skills.

Isilya's eyes move to a second portal, where she can see Mikasa easily taking down a cadet as well. Another laugh leaves Isilya's mouth as a few cadets gawk at Mikasa as she walks away. Unlike Eren, Mikasa has shown that she can control her anger and all of her other emotions. She's excelling in all areas of training, but still needs to work on teamwork. Isilya thinks about how long it took for the girl to warm up to her. It may take a while, but Mikasa could be a great leader one day.

Armin dodges a few punches and kicks. Isilya resists the urge to jump through the third portal and help him. Over the last few years, Armin has become much stronger and no longer needs to be protected from bullies. But he's still not as strong as most of the other cadets. However, his academics are impressive as ever, and Isilya is sure he will be a helpful strategist in the future.

Her plate now empty, Isilya moves her hands through the air to close the portals that showed her the training grounds. She moves her legs from the desk and leans forward, eyes roaming through the remaining portals. Her eyes narrow as she notices a commotion in the Stohess District. She flicks her wrists to close the portals and grabs her cloak, heading out of her base.


End file.
